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The country's exporters and importers have suggested the government to establish a system where all the port-related affairs could be dealt with under one roof. According to traders in Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), a single monitoring and regulatory body, like the ministry of ports and shipping, should be formed to deal with the issues related to sea trade.
They said the traders were compelled to go to various governmental institutions for getting their imports and exports related formalities done which, they said, was creating panic and causing discouragement among the latter.
"The ministry of commerce deals with the issues relating to freight forwarders, customs preventive deals with the shipping lines and shipping agents and Collectorate of Care deal with the terminal operators," said Nasir Mehmood Chairman Shipping and Multi-Model Transport Sub-Committee (2008).
The role of ministry of ports and shipping, he said, was confined only to the policy making and regulation of ports (sans the container terminals). "Main suggestion of the KCCI is to merge all the port related procedures for trade under one roof," said Mehmood who is also a Managing Committee member of the KCCI.
According to another trader in KCCI, had the government brought all the trade related affairs under one roof, 50 percent problems related mainly to the freight etc would be resolved.
The traders were of the view that the ministry of ports and shipping should be made liable to deal with the traders which, they said, would not only boost trade, but also help the traders increase the volume of exports-oriented trade in the crises-hit Pakistan.
Responding to a query on the proposed increase in Terminal Handling Charges (THCs) by the shipping lines and a vowed resentment from the traders, KCCI President Shamim Ahmed Shamsi said no issue was seeming to meet a resolution in the absence of a single regulatory body. He said lack of interest by the government in the ports and shipping affairs was self-evident by the fact that there was no full-fledged federal minister for the very important ministry so far. "Some things are dealt with by the ministry of finance and commerce while others by the ministry of ports and shipping... nothing is under one roof," the KCCI chief lamented.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2008

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