Non-provision of dollars has forced commercial importers in Pakistan to stop the import of all eatables and drinks from June 25.
The Karachi Wholesale Grocers Association Secretary, Farhat Siddique, has issued a statement for body members, saying that all banks have refused to provide them with dollars, reports in Pakistani media said.
He said the association in this regard held a meeting in which all importers and indenting agents participated.
After a thorough discussion, it was decided that importers should inform their indenters that no shipment should be dispatched after June 25, the report by Pakistan’s The News added.
According to the statement, the importers are only responsible for the clearance of goods that have reached the port or are on the way. No shipment would be cleared that was dispatched after June 25. The Karachi Wholesale Grocers Association said that due to lack of foreign currency, thousands of containers are stuck at the port and they are paying fines and other charges on them.
The statement said the State Bank of Pakistan is not providing the much-needed foreign exchange and that its policies are extremely harmful to the country’s economy.
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Concerns continue to rise over the health of Pakistan’s economy as foreign reserves continue to run staggeringly low amid an intensifying political crisis marked by a tug of war between former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the ruling People’s Democratic Movement.
The Pakistani rupee has weakened and inflation stands at decades-high levels.
Earlier this year, the food crisis in Pakistan reached unprecedented proportions when visuals of stampede at wheat flour shops in different parts of the country dominated the South Asian news cycle,
Years of economic mismanagement by Islamabad have come to haunt its current rulers. While the Pakistani economy was declining for quite some time, the floods of 2022 caused unprecedented damage to the country with critical infrastructure destroyed and millions displaced.
