Pakistan on the Verge of Losing Air Cargo Export Services:
Pakistan on the Verge of Losing Air Cargo Export Services
Air cargo brokers have alerted the government that all air export shipments may soon halt.
According to a statement issued yesterday by the Air Cargo Agents Association of Pakistan (ACAAP), foreign airlines may stop serving Pakistan.
This comes after banks stopped issuing freight payments to them for more than three months due to a currency shortage.
In addition to passenger transportation, air cargo services are used to export high-value exotic seafood, meat, fruits, and vegetables, quality textile items, leather goods, sports & surgical equipment, and so on from all major international airports in Pakistan.
Because the national carrier PIA lacks infrastructure and destinations, these international aircraft transport more than 85% of all export commodities to overseas places, bringing in millions of cash for the state coffers.
Almost all domestic and international logistics companies with offices in Pakistan offer air and sea transportation to Pakistani exporters.
The chairman of the Air Cargo Agents Association of Pakistan (ACAAP), Mohsin Abbas Dharsi, wrote to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, warning that any more disruption might have disastrous consequences for the country’s international commerce.
The foreign airline lines are already considering terminating their services in Pakistan due to the existing economic difficulties, according to the organisation, adding that if international trade is disrupted, the situation would worsen.
The Chairman of the ACAAP also wrote to the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Lamed Ahmed, the Minister of Commerce, Syed Naveed Qamar, and the Federal Minister of Aviation, Khawaja Saad Rafique.
