KARAPINAR: Sinkholes wide enough to swallow a bus dot the drought-stricken breadbasket of the Turkish plains, worrying farmers as they spread and creep closer to residential homes.
“The drought situation is getting worse,” said farmer Tahsin Gundogdu, whose harvest includes potatoes he sells to the US food giant PepsiCo.
The 57-year-old has seen the huge holes yawn open in the past 10 to 15 years as the overuse of groundwater for irrigation takes its toll.
Dizzyingly deep, they appear when underground caverns created by drought can no longer contain the weight of the layer of soil above.
This puts farmers in a bind.
Attempts to get water by other means are more expensive, cutting farmers’ incomes. But continued reliance on groundwater will likely make the problem only worse.
Professor Fetullah Arik has counted around 600 sinkholes in the Konya plain, where he heads the Sinkhole Research Center at the Konya Technical University — nearly double the 350 counted last year.
Experts want the government to do more to address extreme drought, blaming the lack of a proper water management policy for Turkey’s woes.
Trying to cut groundwater use, farmers have been forced to water their fields more, leading to higher electricity bills.
“We usually would water the land twice a year but now we’re doing it five or six times,” said Hazim Sezer, a 57-year-old farmer in Karapinar.
But Gundogdu said some farmers still turn to illegally using groundwater for their crops.
If not addressed, drought will hurt farmers and consumers “as much as, if not worse” than the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic, said Baki Remzi Suicmez, head of Turkey’s Chamber of Agricultural Engineers (ZMO).
“Until last year, we had never seen drought like this,” farmer Kamil Isikli agreed, adding he was more optimistic for 2021 after rain fell earlier this year.
“Farmers no longer have enough money from one month to the next to pay their bills,” Isikli said. “They can’t afford anything anymore.”
Sezer urged the government to create underground systems that redirect water to the plains that would otherwise end up in the seas.
Murat Akbulut, head of ZMO’s Konya branch, said this could offer a “significant solution” for Konya, whose Beysehir Lake has seen its water reserves shrink to 123 million tons from 450 million tons in 2020.
This drop “will lead to real irrigation issues for the plain,” Akbulut said.
Nearly 77 percent of Turkey’s water is consumed by the agricultural sector, Suicmez told AFP.
Turkey is actually facing two types of drought.
The first is meteorological, due to dry weather, and the second is hydrological, which means water levels are low in streams, reservoirs and groundwater levels.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted his first water forum last month, promising to “renew and improve the agricultural irrigation systems.”
Suicmez said a lot depended on the weather in April and May, because “if there isn’t enough rain in those months, in nearly all areas where there is dry farming, the risk of agricultural drought will continue.”
But even abundant spring rain will not make the problem go away, Suicmez warned.
This winter also saw fears over low water levels in dams, although Agriculture Minister Bekir Pakdemirli insisted last month the problem had been solved by rainfall.
He also suggested Turkey was primarily suffering from the effects of rising temperatures and climate change.
But Suicmez said while this was true, it was “not right” to blame everything on global events.
“We cannot say: ‘Oh there’s climate change, that’s why there’s drought’, when there are concrete reasons for it,” Suicmez said.
The drought’s impact is felt especially severely in the lakes region of Turkey’s southwest, geology engineer Servet Cevni said.
Experts warn Salda Lake, which NASA believes could provide clues to a crater on Mars it has just started exploring with the Perseverence rover, is also suffering.
Described as “Turkey’s Maldives” because of turquoise waters and white sand, its shoreline has receded by up to 30 meters (around 100 feet) in the past 10 years, according to the local mayor.
“We don’t have a single lake that we can say is in a good state in terms of water in Burdur province. They’re either at risk or in a really bad state,” Cevni said.
The larger Burdur Lake closer to the city center has seen water recede by 11 kilometers (6.8 miles), he said, stressing the need for an “urgent water policy.”
“Wasting water is as serious an issue as killing someone. The punishments should be just as serious,” he said.
Bus-sized sinkholes appearing in Turkey threaten harvest
https://arab.news/wdt2h
Bus-sized sinkholes appearing in Turkey threaten harvest
- Sinkholes appear in drough-stricken region
Egypt’s exports surge by 24% in February amid trade shifts
RIYADH: Egypt’s exports rose by 24.1 percent year on year in February to reach $4.43 billion, driven by increased shipments of key commodities.
The surge comes amid other economic indicators improving, highlighting the country’s developing financial landscape.
The latest monthly trade report released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, known as CAPMAS, explained that the growth in exports was driven by an increase in ready-made garments, which rose by 30.6 percent, and petroleum products, which increased by 12.2 percent.
Moreover, processed foods grew by 9.3 percent, and primary plastic products saw a 3.4 percent rise.
Egypt’s export growth comes as the Middle East and North Africa region navigates shifting global trade dynamics in 2025, with the impact of recent tariff measures and geopolitical tensions reshaping commercial flows worldwide.
Egypt’s overall trade balance recorded a deficit of $2.33 billion, marking a 29.1 percent decline from February 2024, when the deficit stood at $3.28 billion.
In the second month of this year, imports saw a 1.4 percent decline to $6.67 billion, down from $6.85 billion in the same period of 2024, due to the rise in prices of some imported goods.
Sector highlights
While some goods, including fresh fruits, fertilizers, potatoes, and iron products, saw declines, the surge in manufactured and petroleum goods bolstered the overall export figures.
Reduced purchases of wheat, raw iron and steel materials, pharmaceuticals, and primary plastics contributed to the import decline. Conversely, imports of petroleum products, natural gas, corn, and soybeans rose sharply.
Adding to the economic momentum, remittances from Egyptians working abroad surged to a record $32.6 billion in the 12 months through February, marking a 72.4 percent increase from the previous year.
The North African country’s net foreign assets also rose by $1.48 billion in February, reaching $10.18 billion, supported by increased foreign investment in treasury bills.
In a meeting with the National Press Authority in January, Rania Al-Mashat, the minister of planning and economic development, said that the economy is projected to grow by 4 percent this fiscal year, bolstered by structural reforms and a record $46.1 billion in foreign direct investment in 2023/2024.
The government is pursuing $4.2 billion in macroeconomic support from global partners, with negotiations underway for an additional $4.10 billion in EU budget aid.
Saudi Arabia and UNCTAD ink deal to measure e-commerce and digital economy
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and the UN Trade and Development have signed an agreement aimed at enhancing the formulation of e-commerce and digital economy policies in the Kingdom.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the agreement will help build a framework in the Kingdom’s e-commerce sector by implementing a survey to assess the current situation and disseminating the data in accordance with international best practices.
The agreement was signed by the Kingdom’s Vice Minister of Commerce, Eman Al-Mutairi, during the 8th session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on E-Commerce and the Digital Economy in Geneva on May 12.
In a separate statement, UNCTAD said that Saudi Arabia has committed $1.4 million to support its work on measuring e-commerce and the digital economy.
UNCTAD has estimated that global e-commerce sales reached over $27 trillion in 2022, based on the latest available data covering businesses in 43 developed and developing economies.
Saudi Arabia’s e-commerce sector is also witnessing rapid momentum, with 40,953 businesses registered across the Kingdom by the end of 2024, representing a 10 percent year-on-year rise.
“This partnership with UNCTAD will further solidify the Kingdom’s leadership in the digital domain, enabling us to effectively measure and harness the vast economic potential of e-commerce for our businesses, thereby reinforcing our global competitiveness,” said Al-Mutairi, who is also the CEO of the Kingdom’s National Competitiveness Center.
She further added that the Kingdom is steadfastly advancing its ambitious transformation agenda by positioning itself as a diversified and competitive economy across economic, social and cultural spheres.
UN Trade and Development Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said that measuring the actual value of e-commerce opportunities remains “a great challenge.”
She added: “Under this agreement, we will be able to develop the evidence base needed to understand the current ‘state of play’ regarding e-commerce in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also improve measurement at the global level.”
UNCTAD said that the collaboration with Saudi Arabia consists of two tracks – domestic and international.
The domestic track will focus on assessing the degree of digital trade uptake and value of e-commerce transactions in Saudi Arabia — one of the largest economies in the Middle East.
The international track will support the work of a dedicated task group convened by UNCTAD, comprising experts from more than 25 countries and fellow international organizations.
Saudi Arabia’s National Competitiveness Center has several partnerships with international organizations to benefit from their practices and experiences in the areas of improving and developing the Kingdom’s competitiveness, and UNCTAD is one of its most important partners.
FHS25: Tourism leaders see Saudi Arabia becoming top 5 global destination by 2040
RIYADH: As Saudi Arabia continues its rapid transformation into a global tourism hub, industry leaders at the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh forecast the Kingdom’s emergence as one of the world’s top five travel destinations by 2040.
A clear focus on diversified tourism offerings, reduced seasonality, and workforce development is driving long-term strategic alignment between the public and private sectors, experts told attendees.
Saudi Arabia is seeking to boost its tourism and hospitality sectors under the Vision 2030 economic diversification initiative, with a plan to deliver 362,000 new hotel rooms by the end of the decade to meet growing demand.
Having already surpassed its initial goal of 100 million visitors, the Kingdom now targets 150 million annually by 2030, reinforcing its ambition to become a premier global destination and solidifying tourism as a key pillar of long-term economic growth.
Speaking during a panel on the 2025–2040 hospitality outlook, Ibrahim Al-Turki, chairman of Growth Partner, reflected on the sector’s trajectory since the early planning days of Vision 2030.
“To be honest, I didn’t imagine that we would be here today,” he said. “From this perspective, I think Saudi Arabia in 2040 will be one of the top five destinations.”
Al-Turki emphasized that to sustain momentum, the Kingdom must continue to develop meaningful reasons for global visitors to choose Saudi Arabia — not just more hotel rooms.
“The rooms are everywhere, but they need a reason to come. In 2040, we need to ask ourselves: ‘What is the why’?” he said.
He pointed to recent progress in addressing long-standing seasonality issues, citing initiatives such as Riyadh Season, Jeddah Season, and new destination management organizations like AlUla and the Red Sea.
“In Makkah and Madinah, 70 percent of visitors used to come in Ramadan. This year, only 20 percent came in Ramadan — the rest is distributed across the year,” he said.
“This is how the ADR (average daily rate) of the hotels will increase. That investment will be better, and this is how we deal with this activation and seasonality,” he said.
Elie Milky, vice president of development for the Middle East, Pakistan, Greece, and Cyprus at Radisson Hotel Group, noted that Saudi Arabia’s strength lies in the breadth of its tourism strategy.
“Saudi Arabia is becoming a global destination covering religious tourism, medical tourism, agricultural tourism, corporate tourism. It’s going to cover every aspect of tourism that we know today,” he said.
Milky echoed the need for a wide-ranging hotel supply strategy, emphasizing the role of secondary cities in balancing demand.
“The more quality hotels you have in secondary locations, the more people visit,” he said.
He added that Radisson has expanded significantly across the Kingdom with a diversified brand portfolio, including new openings in Madinah and upcoming launches in Makkah and the Eastern Province.
In support of long-term growth, Milky also underscored the importance of workforce development.
“Talent is a challenge, not only in Saudi Arabia, but globally,” he said. “More than 40 percent of our talent are Saudis — Saudi men, Saudi women — and with our regional office in Riyadh, Saudization is at 60 percent.”
He highlighted ongoing efforts to train Saudi nationals for leadership positions through public-private collaboration and responsible business initiatives.
Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Development Fund eyes global bank partnerships to boost financing
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Development Fund is pursuing partnerships with global banks to secure additional financing for large-scale hospitality and infrastructure projects, as interest in the Kingdom’s fast-growing travel market intensifies.
Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh, Khalid Al-Shareef, director of large institutions coverage at TDF, stated that the fund is looking beyond its own capital base and local banking partnerships to support major developments.
This comes as the fund has supported more than 2,400 direct and indirect tourism projects, representing a total investment of over SR35 billion ($9.33 billion). These initiatives are contributing to the development of more than 9,200 hotel rooms and villas across the country.
The drive aligns with Saudi Arabia’s broader Vision 2030 objective of increasing tourism’s contribution to gross domestic product from 3 percent to 10 percent and creating 1 million new jobs within the industry.
Al-Shareef told Arab News: “We are also bringing inbound, international banks to help us support, whether it’s equity investments or in terms of financing.”
He added: “We look forward to expanding, and it all depends on where we are headed. We have a roadmap, which is the national tourism strategy, and wherever we find the gap, you will find us there participating.”
The spokesperson revealed that TDF met with a couple of banks and received strong interest across the board. “The Saudi market is growing at a fast pace; the numbers are talking for themselves. So, everyone is interested to join and be part of this growth,” he added.
According to Al-Shareef, TDF participates in projects through three key financing mechanisms: debt, equity, and guarantees in partnership with banks. He emphasized the importance of de-risking projects, particularly for small and medium enterprises.
“Some projects have high risk, especially for SMEs. We have partnered with a couple of local banks to provide guarantees for them to mainly cater to the mass market all across the Kingdom,” he said.
The fund also supports entrepreneurship through its TDF Grow platform, aimed at empowering startups and tour guides through education and training.
“We have supported more than 8,800 participants, all world-class education classes from international and well-known entities to offer their courses here in Saudi Arabia,” the TDF spokesperson said.
Beyond financing, TDF is positioning itself as a facilitator within the tourism ecosystem, simplifying processes and enhancing access to support services.
“As we have mentioned, financial support is there, but non-financial support is also important, especially for SMEs. You have to give the right education and guidance for them to thrive and hopefully become bigger companies over time,” he said.
Al-Shareef emphasized that the guidance component is crucial and noted that non-financial support also involves connecting SMEs with various entities.
“Today, rather than going to 10 or 15 entities to operate a hotel or what have you, we are basically trying to be a one-stop shop that will guide you on where to go to get your licenses and permits,” the spokesperson added.
Al-Shareef noted the diversity of Saudi Arabia’s tourism landscape, ranging from beaches in the Eastern Province and Jeddah to mountainous regions in the south and desert terrain in the north. TDF is focusing efforts on underdeveloped areas that require more government incentives.
“Currently, we are focusing more on tier two and tier three cities. Big cities like Riyadh and Makkah are carrying themselves, especially with the banks supporting them heavily,” the spokesperson said.
He cited Abha, Al Baha, and AlUla as examples of regions receiving increased attention to ensure more balanced tourism development across the Kingdom.
Oil Updates — prices ease on concerns over rising supply, US-China trade deal caution
LONDON: Oil prices eased on Tuesday from a two-week high, weighed down by concerns about rising supplies and some caution over whether the pause in the US-China trade war indicated a longer-term deal was likely.
Brent crude futures dropped 11 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $64.85 per barrel by 8:10 a.m. Saudi time. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 8 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $61.87.
Both benchmarks closed about 1.5 percent higher on Monday at their steepest settlements since April 28. The gains come during a turbulent time for global oil markets.
The US and China agreed to slash steep tariffs for at least 90 days, sending Wall Street stocks, the US dollar and crude prices sharply higher on Monday.
“While a thawing in trade tensions between China and the US is helpful, there’s still plenty of uncertainty over what happens in 90 days. This uncertainty could continue to generate headwinds for oil demand,” ING analysts said in an email to clients.
Underlying schisms that led to the dispute remain, including the US trade deficit with China and US President Donald Trump’s demand for more action from Beijing to combat the US fentanyl crisis.
“There is still high uncertainty around the future US-China trade negotiations in the coming 90-day pause period and beyond, given the substantial differences between China and the US on some fundamental issues,” UBS Chief China Economist Wang Tao wrote in a client note.
Markets were eyeing rising supplies as a key driver for oil price weakness.
“Though demand has been a key concern for the oil market, supply increases from OPEC+ mean that the oil market will be well supplied through the remainder of the year,” ING analysts said, adding that how well supplied the market is will depend on whether OPEC+ sticks with plans for aggressive supply hikes in May and June.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has boosted oil output by more than previously expected since April, with May output likely up by 411,000 barrels per day.
However, oil price declines were capped by some signs that demand for refined fuel remains strong.
“Despite the deteriorating outlook for crude demand, positive signals from the fuel markets cannot be overlooked. Although international crude prices have declined by 22 percent since their peak on January 15, both refined product prices and refining margins have remained stable,” JP Morgan analysts said in a note.
Reduced refining capacity — mostly in the US and Europe — is tightening gasoline and diesel balances, increasing reliance on imports and raising susceptibility to price spikes during maintenance and unplanned outages, they added.
Complex refining margins in Singapore have nearly doubled in May, averaging at $6.60 a barrel this month, up from $3.65 in April, LSEG pricing data showed.
