Artificial shortage of industrial raw materials: NKATI chief urges Dawood to take action against local producers

KARACHI: President North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry (NKATI), Faisal Moiz Khan while expressing deep concern over the artificial shortage created by local producers of industrial raw materials and the skyrocketing prices, has urged the Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan for Commerce & Investment to take action in this regard immediately.

He urged the advisor to also play his vital role in ensuring uninterrupted supply of raw materials at reasonable prices as per demand of local and export-oriented industries.

In a letter to PM Advisor, Abdul Razak Dawood, NKATI president pointed out that local producers of industrial raw materials have created artificial shortage of raw materials by forming cartels, and by massive hoarding, prices have skyrocketed.

He said: "Local producers of industrial raw materials were making huge profits by selling expensive raw materials justifying the rising value of the dollar, which was totally illegal. The government should take immediate notice of this looting and take steps to prevent stockpiling of raw materials."

Faisal Moiz Khan was of the opinion that the processing industry, especially the chemical industry, was facing the biggest shortage of raw materials, which was hurting the export industries. If the goods cannot be processed, then timely shipment will not be possible.

"The prices have been increased 300 to 400 times, especially for Formic acid, Acetic acid and Sulfuric acid. Caustic Soda has also become a major problem, as Hydrogen prices have also been increased. The entire wreckage of which is being dumped on the international market. It has not been settled but the prices have been increased many times by including duty and freight etc", he said, adding that if the government did not intervene immediately and support exporters, the industrialists would suffer.

Faisal Moiz Khan appealed to Abdul Razak Dawood to break the cartel of local producers of industrial raw materials, and said that the problems of Karachi industrialists should be addressed seriously as industrialists are playing their vital role in Pakistan's economic development.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021