KARACHI: Former Vice Chairman of Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) and Former President of KATI Sheikh Umer Rehan has expressed concern over the increasing consumption of edible oil and ghee smuggled from Iran in the country and especially in Karachi.

He said thousands of tonnes of smuggled oil and ghee had devastated local manufacturers. Smuggled oil is not only costing the government billions of rupees in taxes but also shutting down local industries due to low prices and the black market.

Sheikh Umer Rehan further said that the government and law enforcement agencies should take strict measures to curb smuggling. He said black sheep hidden in government agencies should be traced under whose patronage thousands of tons of edible oil and ghee are reaching the market.

He feared that if the smuggling was not stopped immediately, the local industry would be shut down and the government would suffer significant losses in terms of revenue.

He demanded that the government should create competition in the sale of edible oil, ghee and formulate a strategy to curb smuggling or also give tax exemption to the local manufacturers so that they can compete with the smuggled oil due to its low price.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021