Port lorry strike badly hits imports and exports: Piaf

[LRE]

Port lorry strike badly hits imports and exports: Piaf
MUHAMMAD RIAZ
LAHORE (August 26 2008): The goods transporters' strike that continued for the seventh consecutive day in Karachi on Monday, is telling upon negatively on import and export activities and the importers of Pakistani goods have started contacting the exporters to inquire about the substantial delay in shipments.

The banks have also stopped issuing bill of lading because of the strike being observed on the call of the Supreme Council of All Karachi Goods Transport Ittehad. Exporters and importers are also facing huge damages and penalties on account of demurrage.

As a result of the strike, fleet of trucks, trawlers and containers are stranded at the parking place, which is not only hitting the industrial, trade and other economic activities but also depriving thousands of people from their livelihoods. The strike also pushed the prices of all those items transported from Karachi to upcountry and would further aggravate the situation if the strike continues, said Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association Front (Piaf) Chairman Irfan Qaisar while talking to Business Recorder here on Monday.

He urged the government to immediately intervene so that the transportation activities could be normalised. The strike is hitting all the stakeholders hard, Qaisar added. He said the export-oriented industry in Punjab and upstream areas of the country is no more economically viable because of the unprecedented rise in the logistic cost that has been increased more than double in the backdrop of increase in local oil prices.

The goods' transportation cost from Karachi-Lahore-Karachi has been increased from Rs 2 to Rs 5 per kilogram while the cost for Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Rawalpindi and other upcountry areas is more than that of Lahore. As a result, the industrial units manufacturing exportable goods by using imported raw material in Punjab and upcountry areas are facing severe pressure and their profit margin has been substantially declined. "The industry using imported raw material was paying Rs 2 per kilogram which is now bearing cost of Rs 5 per kilogram for two-way logistic cost.

Meanwhile, LCCI President Mohammad Ali Mian, Senior Vice President Mian Muzaffar Ali and Vice President Shafqat Saeed Piracha have demanded of the government to resolve issues of transporters on priority basis whose strike has now entered into seventh day. They said that the strike was causing multiple problems for business community, especially for exporters and importers besides inflicting huge loss to national exchequer.

The office-bearers said that on the one hand, the stocks of raw materials with the industries were fast exhausting while on the other the finished goods are piling up at the premises of various industrial units due to their non-transportation. The business activities have already been affected and the country is facing worst economic crisis and this sort of act would create more difficulties for the present government. The shortage of necessary items besides heavy demurrage charges to be borne by the business community would further worsen the situation, they added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2008