The head of Swiss logistics giant Kuehne+Nagel, Stefan Paul, said Dubai has about ten days of fresh produce left due to the transport collapse in the Persian Gulf region caused by the US and Israeli military operation against Iran.
In an interview with the SRF portal, he explained that the crisis has led to an almost complete stoppage of air traffic and significant restrictions on the work of seaports in the Middle East, which is seriously hampering the supply of goods that are particularly perishable.
According to Paul, the forced layoff affects about 18% of global cargo air capacity. Among the goods whose transportation is disrupted are pharmaceuticals with controlled temperature regimes, fresh fruit and other products with a short shelf life.
"Since most products are imported, stocks, especially fresh goods, can quickly run out," the company's chairman noted.
Maritime transport in the Persian Gulf is also limited. About 100 container ships are stuck in the Gulf area, and ships are avoiding passage through the Strait of Hormuz - a key route for transporting grain and food.
Earlier, the Danish logistics company Maersk suspended the reception and dispatch of cargo in the Persian Gulf countries, including the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which affected refrigerated and special cargo.
Logisticians are looking for alternative routes, for example, delivering goods by plane to Saudi Arabia with further transportation by truck. However, as Paul explained, such a scheme is very complex.
"One container ship can carry up to 20,000 containers. It is impossible to simply replace it with trucks," the expert said.
The disruption to logistics has already led to an increase in transport tariffs. According to Bloomberg, the cost of transporting goods from Southeast Asia to Europe has increased by more than 6% - to USD 3.82 per kilogram.
Tariffs for transportation from the Middle East to the EU have increased by 8% (to USD 1.62), and shipping from China to the US has increased by 15% (to USD 6.90 per kilogram). The largest air carriers in the region - Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad - have limited cargo transportation.
Kuehne+Nagel International AG is one of the world leaders in the transport and logistics industry, founded in 1890 in Bremen (Germany) and headquartered in Switzerland. The company is consistently among the top 5 largest logistics providers in the world, recognized as a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for third-party logistics operators (3PL).
It dominates sea and air freight, and is also strong in contract logistics and supply chain management. The Kuehne+Nagel network has around 1,300 offices in more than 100 countries, serving around 400,000 customers in the retail, pharmaceutical, automotive and high-tech sectors. The company has more than 96,000 employees and revenue in 2024 reached CHF 24.8 billion. Along with DHL, Maersk, DSV, FedEx and UPS, Kuehne+Nagel remains a key player that is actively implementing digital solutions and striving for carbon neutrality.
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