KARACHI: Pakistan’s export sector is facing severe disruption as shipping lines have halted vessel movements to the Middle East, leaving hundreds of export containers stranded at local ports, senior business leaders warned on Saturday.
Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, Senior Vice President, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) and Chairman of the BMP-Progressive (BMPP), said the sudden suspension of vessel operations had brought export logistics to a standstill, putting exporters at risk of substantial financial losses.
He said exporters had already moved their consignments to the ports in line with shipment schedules, but with vessels no longer calling, terminal operators were now asking exporters to retrieve their containers. “Bringing containers back to the factories and then returning them to the port later would result in massive additional costs, which many exporters simply cannot absorb,” he said.
Mr. Magoon urged the government to immediately announce a minimum 30?day special relief window at all ports and to fully waive demurrage and detention charges in view of the extraordinary situation. Such measures, he said, were essential to prevent exporters from suffering crippling losses.
He said the escalating tensions in the Middle East have prevented several cargo vessels from anchoring at Pakistani ports, while ships scheduled to depart are now avoiding Gulf destinations altogether, leaving a substantial volume of export containers stranded at the docks.
In a discussion with Rafiq Suleman, Convener of the FPCCI Standing Committee on Rice Exporters, FPCCI Senior Vice President Saquib Fayyaz Magoon said rice consignments have been particularly affected. He noted that profit margins in the rice export sector are already narrow, and any forced offloading of containers and re?transportation of goods back to warehouses would sharply increase handling and logistics costs, resulting in heavy financial losses for exporters. Magoon stressed that the government must take urgent steps to support the export sector, warning that sustaining exports under the current circumstances is vital for the country’s economy.
