Due to the scarcity of dollars, commercial importers have halted all food and beverage imports beginning June 25.
According to Farhat Siddique, Secretary of the Karachi Wholesale Grocers Association, all banks have refused to furnish them with dollars.
Following extensive deliberation, the association resolved that importers should notify their indenters that no shipments should be shipped after June 25.
Importers are only responsible for clearing items that have arrived at the port or are on their way. No shipment delivered after June 25 will be cleared.
The association lamented that thousands of containers are detained at the port due to a lack of foreign money, and they are paying fines and other costs for them.
According to the statement, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is failing to provide much-needed foreign exchange, and its actions are very detrimental to the country’s economy.
The coalition administration is desperately trying to handle a balance of payments problem and bring inflation under control after it touched a record of nearly 38% last month, with just enough foreign exchange reserves to cover one month’s imports.
The currency crisis, import limitations, and delays in issuing letters of credit have significantly harmed various sectors of the economy, with none meeting the growth expectations established for the fiscal year 2022-23.
