Pakistan is currently in the middle of a major economic crisis, forcing several businesses to shut down and local traders going berserk over the worsening conditions.
“Save Timber Trade – “Give Dollars”
As per official media reports, on Thursday, traders in Karachi took to the streets to put their demands forward and staged a protest outside the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The protest was done against the non-payment of the Letters of Credit (LC)’s and the increasing demurrage on the containers stuck at the port.
Check out the tweet quoted after Express News
Changing Pakistan: Millionaires protesting!
Traders are protesting outside the State Bank in Karachi for non-payment of LCs & their costs on the stuck containers pic.twitter.com/wNlI20J5HE
— Economy of Pakistan (@Pakistanomy) January 12, 2023
The reason behind such delays is said to be the lacking foreign exchange in the country due to economical instability. Moreover, a shutter-down strike was also conducted on the call of the Karachi Timber Merchants Group (KTMG) which lead to teh closure of all shops located in the Timber Market.
As per the Chairman of All City Traders Union (ACTU) and All Pakistan Timber Traders Association (APTA) Sharjeel Gopalani, “700 containers of timber are awaiting clearance at the port for 45 days. 2,000 more containers are on the sea route and are about to reach Pakistan.”
However, the SBP has not issued any statement yet regarding the matter.
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