He said that exporters were facing colossal financial losses due to delay in export shipments and unavailability of transport. Likewise, the importers were also facing huge loses in the form of detention charges as the import consignments were lying at ports due unavailability of transport. Also the industries in Karachi and major upcountry cities of Pakistan have started facing shortage of industrial raw materials like yarn, chemicals, dyes etc.
The transporters had already presented their 13-point charter of demand to the government, he said and expressed the hope that the grievances of transporters would be addressed on immediate basis. Meanwhile the industrialists have expressed serious concerns over the strike by goods transporters. They urged the government to resolve the issue on priority basis.
Former Vice President KCCI, Nisar Chandna, said that the strike had badly hit the delivery of raw material to the already ailing industry. The port operations and transportation of raw material and finished products to and from various industries to upcountry have been affected due to the strike, which started earlier in the week. The transports insist that the strike was being observed over lack of security and load limits set by the motorway police along with the fines being imposed.
Meanwhile, Acting Chairman, SITE Association of Industry (SAI), Naseem Anwar in a press statement said that the strike has badly affected economic activities of the country. He said that the concerned authorities must take necessary measures to resolve the issues. He said that 50 percent of the industries situated in the biggest and the oldest industrial estate of the country, SITE, were in crisis due to the strike. The foreign buyers were demanding that their orders may be supplied through air transport, which was not possible for the industrialists, he added.
Shahzad Mushtaq Paracha, Chairman Pakistan Soap Manufacturers Association, expressed concern over indefinite strike by the transporters. He said that the strike would lead to huge financial losses due to increase in cost of transportation charges because of restriction of weight imposed by National Highway & Motorway Authority. He urged the government to resolve the matter without any further delay, as millions of export orders were stuck due to blockade of Maripur Road and Port Qasim Road.