"Prime Minister should take notice of the situation to resolve concerns of goods transporters" president of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), Masood Naqi urged. He said that while our exports deficit was rising and national debt was also on the hike, our economy couldn't bear strikes. He said that if the situation would continue, our exports could fall horribly. He said that due to delays, traders were already facing cancellations of import orders and expiry of LCs.
Former President FPCCI, S.M Muneer said that import and export activities were being sabotaged. He said Karachi port was being used for imports worth more than Rs 6 billion daily but there are piles of containers at the same port due to strikes nowadays. "The containers of rice, textile products, leather, fruit, vegetables, readymade garments and other goods worth billions are stuck since days no action has yet been taken by authorities to restore transportation process," he said, alerting that if the strike wouldn't call off immediately, heavy losses to national economy would be caused.
Muneer noted that conflicts between goods transporters and officials take place repeatedly and cause grave issues for traders and industrialists. He said that strikes badly affected shipments and delays of exports order, which brings bad name to the industry and affect exports and industrial sector, directly. Muneer and Naqi proposed that a long term and permanent solution should be provided to transporters to resolve this issue, permanently.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) Anjum Zafar said that a meeting was held with the Pakistan Goods Transporters Alliance chairman Nisar Hussain Jafri where they discussed the core issues. They brought to the notice of the Goods Transporters Alliance the real concern of the leather sector of Pakistan which is the second biggest export-oriented industry of the country and contributing significant to the country's GDP. They apprised transporters of the problems being confronted by PTA's members across the country due to indefinite strike being observed by the goods transporters.
Chairman of the Pakistan Good Transporters Alliance Jafri said that 486000 vehicles registered in Pakistan for the goods transportation were completely parked. The transporters wanted Sindh Government and City Government sort out their problem. He said that new concerted TOR/SOP be submitted to the Sindh High Court for the alternate solution on temporarily basis for the restoration of transporters which is not Karachi-specific issue but entire country's exports and imports were badly hit by it.
"Thousands of containers of chemicals, food items and other perishable items are stuck at Karachi Port and Port Qasim that need to be transported," he said, adding that the mercantile fleet authority in Karachi also issued letter to the higher authority for immediate resolution for upcoming containers ready at the port for disembarkation.
PTA chairman Anjum Zafar said that the foreign buyers/customers were threatening to cancel the LC's already opened for the cargo/shipments to them within the timeframe agreed with them in written.
He said "more than 300 containers of leather industry are held up and activities came to a standstill in leather sector. Even if the matter is sorted out urgently it will take many weeks to clear the backlog while economy will suffer losses to the tunes of millions of dollars."
Anjum Zafar, Aziz Ahmed Senior Vice Chairman and Gulzar Firoz, ex-chairman, PTA, with the support of the house appealed to the Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and provincial Transport Minister Nasir Hussain Shah to resolve the issue immediately without any further delay to avoid further loss and demurrage for the cargo for the import, exports of the precious shipments otherwise Sindh Government will be held responsible solely for the heavy demurrage/losses of PTA's exporters.
The industrialists claimed that transports strike not only hit industrial production but also affected fulfilling export commitments and shipment of goods on time. Industrialist said that they have raw material in stores to continue product for next few days and added that if the goods transporters strike prolong they may face difficulties.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017