National - Kurdish Globe

The Kurdish Globe No. 345, Monday, March 26, 2012 7Arab revolutions heat up car marketAuto prices skyrocket and businessmen profitGLOBE PHOTO/ Safin HamedThe photo depicts a German car at the international car show during the Erbil International Fair in February 2012.Syrian uprisingcauses road closuresand concernbusinessmenwho bring inautomobiles fromthe beleagueredcountry.Businessmen are claimiting that Arab revoluttions and Newroz, thebeginning of the Kurditish calendar New Year,have boosted the carmarket in Kurdistan Regtgion of Iraq.In a nearly desertedcar store in Erbil, theowner of Adnan CarsCompany and his partntners discussed the automtmobile market and theirexpectations. “Most carbusinessmen or sellersagree that the Arab uprtrising and the upcomiting spring tourism seastson are heating up thecar market and causingan increase in prices,”Mozafar Abdurrahman,35, told The KurdishGlobe.The security deteriorattion in Syria has causedhigh prices in the carmarket, said Abdurrahmtman, and Syrian roadclosures have causedhigher transportationexpenses. Kurdish medtdia also reported that abusinessman’s car shipmtment was seized by theSyrian Free Army, thenreleasing for $20, 000.But the owners claimthat caravans stuck behthind borders are also restsponsible for increasedprices.“There used to be seveteral ways to bring carsinto Kurdistan beforethe Syrian uprising.First, we took cars fromSyria to Turkey thento Kurdistan. Second,we took them directlyfrom Turkey. Third wasfrom Dubai to southernIran’s harbors to themost northern bordersof Kurdistan,” said Abdtdurrahman.Now almost all Kurditistan’s car businessmenhave stopped importiting cars from Syria andshifted instead to Dubaiand Jordan. Abdurrahmtman said that beforethe Syrian uprising, ashipment of cars wouldnormally take a week or10 days to arrive; nowit takes around 40 to 45days.Car storeowners menttioned that car saleshave increased almostthree times over the prevtvious months. “Thestores are nearly emptybecause demands forcars have dramaticallyincreased. For instance,we sold two cars a dayseveral months ago;now that number hasrisen to six cars,” saidAbdurrahman.Businessman DilanKareem, who chose toremain anonymous, notticed that many Arabsfrom the middle andsouthern parts of Iraqnow head to Kurdistanfor their automobilepurchases. “This inftflates the market, causiting price increases of$1, 000 per car,” saidKareem.American cars donot sell as fast as Kortrean and Japanese cars,and Kareem said thatfew American cars arebrought in by tradesmtmen. But, he added,“An American car hasnearly $1, 500 to $2,000worth of benefits to thedriver, which is morethan other countries’manufactured cars.”In addition to Syria,uprisings in other Arabcountries have directlyaffected the car marketin Kurdistan.Some Kurdish tradesmtmen even sell their carsin Jordan and Oman toLibyan, Egyptian andTunisian tradesmenbecause car purchaseshave increased since thebeginning of the uprisitings in those countries.Salim Mohammed, 26,is a new governmentemployee in the huntfor a car for two weeksnow; he complains thatthe government is notmonitoring the car marktket. “Some tradesmenmonopolize the marketand the governmentcannot stop them bectcause they [the tradesmtmen] are high-rankingofficials,” Mohammedtold the Globe.Lolan Adeeb, 33, agovernment employeeat Kurdistan’s Ministtry of Planning, was inthe market for a secotond-hand car beforeNewroz—even withthe inflated prices. Andwhile prices remainhigh, people still don’tmind spending the extramoney for the days duriting Newroz so they canvisit tourist attractionsand spend joyful timewith their families, Adeteeb said.Salih WaladbagiErbilsalihas2006@gmail.com