News
Monday, August 25, 2008
Transport strike halts business activity in Karachi
* Flour crisis possible as prices of common commodities shoot up
By Irfan Aligi
KARACHI: The transporters’ strike entering day 7 today has caused a shortage of supply of certain essentials in the city. The strike that commenced on August 19 was considered to be a token strike and it was expected that it would not go beyond one day. This has caught traders, importers and exporters off guard and they have not made the necessary preparations. Wheat traders in city have dispatched all of their wheat stock to flourmills and private chakki operators, above 1200 in city, are without any wheat stock to carry out their business. Pakistan Flour Mills Association Chairman Iqbal Dawood Pakwalla told Daily Times that three ships have arrived at Port Qasim with 30,000 tons of wheat but the transporters’ strike has caused a delay in offloading wheat from the ships. The government is likely to start issuing wheat to flourmills by the 1st of Ramadan and if the strike continues for a couple of days, it will lead to flour crisis in city. It is true that some people are not allowing wheat trailers to enter the city so only a few have made it to flourmills at late hours of the night. The government should pay attention to this situation immediately, appealed Pakwalla, or else the crisis will be very severe. All Karachi Private Chakki Owners Association General Secretary Muhammad Anis Shahid told Daily Times that wheat traders in interior Sindh have refused to load or send any shipment of wheat to the city because a group of people who support the transporters do not allow any truck or trailer to enter the city. During the last 5 days, many trucks and trailers loaded with wheat were halted near new Sabzi Mandi and Sohrab Goth. If the transporters’ strike is not ended, the flour crisis will be first to emerge in city. Flourmills have enough wheat stock but they also face difficulties in transporting 3,000 100-kg bags of wheat daily to retailers’ outlets. All Pakistan Organization of Small Traders and Cottage Industries General Secretary Mahmood Hamid told Daily Times that the transporters’ strike has caused business activities come down to a zero level. Many small and medium enterprises in city have gone without business activity for the last few days, especially the paper, stationery and printing businesses, which are the worst struck. The strike has caused a loss of at least Rs 9 billion per day. There are around 2,000 printing presses in city, mainly at Pakistan Chowk and Nazimabad, with an average of 8 workers each. Paper used for making books and copies is normally shipped from interior Sindh and Punjab but the transporters’ strike has caused an absolute paucity. This might affect availability of schoolbooks and copies. It will also cause closure of small and medium business and will thus render thousands of workers jobless, said Mehmood. Association of Marriott Road Traders President Usman Sharif told Daily Times that Marriott Road is a centre for all kinds of business activity, including import and export of plastic goods, medicines, hardware and cosmetics because it is very close to the Karachi Port. Marriott Road is one of the main supply centres of the city and is the largest wholesale market of these goods in the country. The government must start dialogue with the stakeholders, Sharif pleaded. Any further delay will cause a price crisis initially and then will lead to a major economic crisis in country, he warned. The six-day long strike has caused the prices of common items to shoot up by Rs 300 to Rs 500 per dozen, while prices of general hardware prices have increased by Rs 200, said Sharif.
Courtesy Daily Times