Syria has begun exporting sheep to Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, through Iraq instead of Jordan, after Jordan imposed fees of up to $60 on each sheep, according to the Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce.
Alaa Omar al-Ali, head of the Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce, had earlier confirmed that the General Authority for Border Crossings and Customs decided to allow sheep exporters to cross into Saudi Arabia through Iraq using the reopened al-Tanf crossing, instead of the traditional route through Jordan.
Jordanian circles also witnessed a broad wave of anger after a video circulated showing Syrian transit trucks changing their route toward Iraq instead of Jordanian territory.
Calls escalated for the government and the minister of information to open an urgent investigation into suspected financial corruption at the border, which they said drove away investment and deprived the Jordanian economy of transport and fuel revenues.
Last year, Syria allowed the export of 200,000 sheep and goats, while Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, are considered the most important importing markets.
The price of a kilogram of lamb currently exceeds $7, meaning the price of one sheep ranges between about $350 and $425, and is likely to rise as Eid al-Adha approaches.
Syrian sheep exporters recently complained about rising livestock transit fees through Jordan, saying the high costs negatively affected export activity and sheep prices in the local market, and pushed several breeders to stop exporting to the Gulf.
Jordanian sources explained that these costs include several veterinary, health, and logistical services, in addition to inspection and examination costs.
A Step Beyond Financial Cost, With Regional Dimensions
Molham al-Jazmati, a researcher at Karam Shaar Advisory, told Enab Baladi that resorting to the al-Tanf crossing as an alternative route for exporting Syrian sheep to the Gulf cannot be read merely as a way around a financial cost imposed on the Jordanian route.
According to al-Jazmati, the issue is broader, as Syria faces a practical test of its ability to diversify its trade corridors and avoid remaining hostage to a single outlet, however geographically shorter it may be.
The route through Jordan remains, in terms of distance and commercial logic, the natural and closest road to the Gulf, the consultant explained. But proximity is not enough if exporters feel the cost of crossing has become high, unclear, or subject to unpredictable assessments.
This is where the importance of al-Tanf emerges, according to al-Jazmati. The crossing not only opens an alternative road toward Iraq, but also reintroduces Syria into the equation of regional land corridors. Through al-Tanf and Iraq’s al-Waleed outlet, Syrian trucks can reach Iraq, then Kuwait via Safwan, or Saudi Arabia and the Gulf through Iraq’s land network, he said.
In this sense, al-Tanf should not be viewed as a peripheral desert crossing, but as a potential gateway to reconnect Syria with Iraq and the Gulf, the consultant stressed, especially if transit is organized under clear and stable rules.
Al-Jazmati noted that Iraq has begun to deal with this route through the logic of “international transit,” not only traditional border crossing. This is where the importance of the TIR system comes in.
What Is TIR?
TIR is an international road transport system that allows goods to pass across borders under unified customs seals and guarantees, al-Jazmati explained, instead of shipments being opened, inspected, and processed again by customs at each crossing point.
In practice, the system does not cancel oversight, but makes it more organized, less costly, and faster, because it moves the shipment under a clear international guarantee from the country of departure to the country of arrival.
Iraq launched the TIR system in April 2025, and during its first year nearly 2,000 road transport operations were registered across Iraqi territory. Iraq also made the system mandatory for international road transport transit starting in November 2025.
According to the researcher, this development gives al-Tanf added value. The route is no longer merely a longer road for sheep exports, but becomes part of a broader logistics corridor linking Syria with Iraq and the Gulf.
A Gateway for Syrian Exports to the Gulf
The International Road Transport Union announced that Syria launched its first TIR operations through Iraq toward Gulf Cooperation Council markets, and that the first shipments were live animals that reached Kuwait and Qatar.
It also noted that these operations followed Iraq’s decision to adopt TIR as a system for international road transport transit, to simplify customs procedures, reduce border delays, and strengthen the competitiveness of regional trade.
The Cost Equation Over Distance
From the cost angle, choosing a longer road does not necessarily mean it is less viable, al-Jazmati explained. In trade, final cost is not measured by distance alone, but by total fees, fuel prices, waiting time, service costs, and the level of clarity in procedures.
In heavy transport, the fuel factor stands out clearly, according to the researcher. Diesel fuel in Iraq is sold officially at about 400 Iraqi dinars per liter, or roughly $0.30, while diesel in Jordan costs about $1.11 per liter, according to May 2026 updates.
Therefore, lower fuel prices in Iraq could offset part of the cost of the longer distance, but this does not remove the need for precise calculations of travel time, road conditions, waiting costs, and any unofficial payments that may appear along the route.
Between Jordan’s Stability and Iraq’s Competitiveness
From a customs perspective, it is not correct to say that Iraq is more organized than Jordan in absolute terms, according to al-Jazmati. He noted that Jordan has a more established customs and procedural system, with documented fees and services for quarantine, veterinary inspection, and live animals.
According to al-Jazmati, the problem raised by Syrian exporters is not related to the absence of Jordanian legislation, but to the gap between the official fee and the actual cost the exporter feels at the crossing. When logistical or veterinary services become a high burden on each sheep, the issue becomes one of transit governance and cost transparency, not merely an ordinary customs procedure.
By contrast, Iraq today presents itself as a longer route that could become more competitive if it stabilizes under the TIR system and operating costs fall, according to al-Jazmati. The comparison here, therefore, is not only between Jordan and Iraq, but between a shorter road disputed over cost and a longer road that gives Syria negotiating space and an alternative corridor to the Gulf.
Economic Gains
Economically, the move could have positive effects on Syria, but these are conditional, according to the researcher. It may protect the profit margin of sheep breeders and exporters if it reduces transit costs, could stimulate the transport, customs clearance, and services sectors linked to land trade, and may give Syria a stronger negotiating card with other corridors.
Al-Jazmati stressed the importance of not exaggerating the step as a full shift in Syria’s trade map. The success of al-Tanf will not be measured by the number of trucks, but by its ability to become an organized and safe route, with clear fees, fast procedures, and health and logistical acceptance from Gulf countries.
Operational Services
Ahmad Shdeifat, head of the Agriculture and Water Committee in Jordan’s House of Representatives, said the debate over sheep export fees through crossings had been exaggerated in a “misleading” way, as he put it. He said what circulated about imposing $60 on sheep exports had “no basis in official records.”
Shdeifat said the actual cost does not exceed $29, explaining that it is not a tax but “a fee for operational services” linked to quarantine procedures, tests, and technical protocols approved for exporting sheep to foreign markets, primarily the Saudi market.
Shdeifat considered the inflation of figures and promotion of the $60 amount to be part of “campaigns aimed at casting doubt on oversight procedures at crossings,” saying such campaigns “serve the interests of smugglers and drug traffickers” who seek, according to him, to “weaken oversight and ease inspection measures at the border.”
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