Inflation may rise ahead of Ramazan, as supply of essential commodities to upcountry areas remain disrupted as transporter's strike entered its ninth day on Tuesday. The goods transporters' strike entered its ninth day on Tuesday amid fears of a total halt in the transport of goods, including food and basic inputs, to and from Karachi port to various parts of the country.
The Sindh High Court ban on the entry of heavy traffic in the port city will continue till the next hearing which is scheduled for May 20, 2017. Traders and wholesalers told Business Recorder that prices of most of the essential kitchen items including pulses, rice, tea, soybean, palm oil, ghee / cocking oil, milk powder, dates etc are expected to increase in the coming days due to shortage in supply, unless the strike ends and supply is restored.
Fearing food shortage in the country in the coming days, hoarders and profiteers have started stocking, which may create artificial shortage as well. Industry insiders believe that freight charges will consequently shoot up, which will likely end up further inflating retail prices.
Mian Zahid Hussain President PBIF told Business Recorder that supply of essentials commodities are slowing down across the country, including a delay in imported food supply to Karachi and upcountry areas with thousands of containers of imported cargo stuck at the port. About 60,000 containers are stuck at Karachi port. And if factories are not getting raw materials, supply and demand gap would widen, Hussain added. He estimated a total loss of economic activity due to the nine day strike at Rs 144 billion - Rs 16 billion per day.
Exporters fear loss of orders as they are unable to meet the scheduled dispatch dates. Imported raw materials are in containers at the ports which are not being transported to factories, inflicting losses worth billions. The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has urged the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take suo moto notice of the predicament of trade and industry due to paralysing strike of the transporters. President UNISAME Zulfiqar Thaver said although the Sindh High Court has directed the Mayor of Karachi Waseem Akhtar to form a committee to sort out the matter, the matter has taken an ugly turn whereby business has come to a standstill. The matter can only be resolved by resetting the route and timings suitable to the traffic department and the transporters. Since the order of the court which prohibits day time movement of heavy cargo trucks is binding on all, it is believed that only the SC is in a position to allow and reset the timings and the routes.
The Union has appealed to the SC to take suo moto notice and save the trade and industry and the custom authorities from huge losses in the best interest of trade and industry.