DNA

Rawalpindi: The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) has shown grave concern over the delay in opening Letters of Credit (LCs) and demanded the Federal Minister Finance Miftah Ismail to intervene and open LCs immediately.

RCCI President Nadeem Rauf has said in a statement that many industries are now facing shortage of raw material and are on the verge of cutting their production. He said that key products especially under HS code 84 and 85 include home appliances, air conditioners, IT products, generators, telecom, steel and automobiles. Importers are worried due to non-opening of LCs.

Factories importing raw material for producing food, medicines and iron are now facing serious supply constraints. “Due to non-release of our import documents and consequent non-availability of raw material, the manufacturing units are on the verge of closure, ” he said.

He said that despite the lifting of the import ban by the government, delay in opening Letters of Credit (LCs) for essential machinery, equipment and spare parts is a matter of grave concern for traders.

Nadeem Rauf said that the current economic situation is very disturbing; SMEs and large-scale industry (LSM) are suffering from slowness.

Production has stopped due to non-availability of parts, bank payments are not being made, operational expenses are also becoming difficult to meet, which has increased the fear of unemployment, he added.

He said that large firms in Pakistan rely on imported raw materials / parts, which run our industries. He appealed to the Finance Minister and Governor State Bank to take immediate notice of the situation and open LCs.