ISLAMABAD: Thousands of containers loaded with important food items, medical equipment, and raw materials have been stuck up at Karachi port because of the foreign exchange crisis.
Importers are not in a position to pay in US dollars to get their containers
cleared from the port as the country is facing a foreign exchange crisis.
Abdul Majeed said, “I have been in the import/export business for the
last four decades and I did not witness such a crisis before.” Abdul
Majeed is a representative of the All Pakistan Customs Agents Association.
He pointed out that countless containers carrying lentils, pharmaceuticals,
and chemicals are lying at the Karachi port.
Meanwhile, Maqbool Ahmed Malik said, “Thousands of containers have been
stranded at the port just because of the crisis of dollars.” Maqbool Ahmed
Malik is the chairman of the customs association.
He asserted that customs clearance business has declined by 50% in recent
weeks as importers are not able to pay in the dollars to clear their
containers.
Importantly, the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan
have further plunged to $4.30 billion last week, the lowest since 2014.
Consequently, neither the banks are not providing dollars to the importers
to clear containers from the port nor opening L/Cs.
It may be noted that the coalition government has requested Saudi Arabia,
UAE, and China to provide more loans as early as possible to enable Pakistan to
fulfill its foreign exchange obligations.
The government is also negotiating with the IMF for the disbursement of the
next combined tranche of $1.1 billion, pending since September 2022.
Interestingly, IMF has been demanding the withdrawal of subsidies on
petroleum products and electricity before the release of the next tranche.
In this article:crisis of dollars, Karachi port, Pakistan, SBP, stuck up containers
Written By
Javed Mahmood
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.