Pak Suzuki announces further plant shutdowns

Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) on Monday said it is extending the shutdown of its motorcycle plant till April 15 and suspending its automobile plant operations from April 7 to April 14 due to inventory shortage as import restrictions continue to hit the auto sector.

The company shared the development in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

“Due to shortage of inventory level … the management of the company has decided to extend shutdown period of its motorcycle plant till April 15, 2023,” read the notice.

“The automobile plant will also observe shutdown on April 07, 2023 & April 14, 2023 due to shortage of inventory level,” it added.

PMSC is the local assembler, manufacturer and marketer of Suzuki cars, pickups, vans, 4x4s and motorcycles as well as related spare parts. The Suzuki brand itself is from Japan.

Import restrictions bite: Pak Suzuki extends automobile plant shutdown

Last month, PSMC announced the shutdown of its motorcycle plant for 12 days, from March 20 to March 31. The decision was made due to the persistent shortage of raw materials, the company said in a statement back then. The company’s automobile plant had remained operational at the time.

Pakistan’s auto sector remains engulfed in various crises. Other listed companies including Indus Motor Company Limited and Honda Atlas Cars have also been forced to halt production during recent months due to economic difficulties that have seen central bank foreign exchange reserves drop to a level barely able to cover four weeks of imports, leading the government to impose import restrictions.

The country remains short of much-needed dollars to meet its import and other external payment commitments. Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased $354 million, clocking in at $4.2 billion as of March 24, data released last week showed.

A shortage of foreign currency reserves has added pressure on the economy that relies heavily on imports to run its engines.