LAHORE: Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) Lahore chapter and Pakistan FMCG Importers Association (PFIA) have urged the government to take immediate measures to arrest the uncontrollable appreciation of greenback against the Pak rupee as it is not only hurting the importers but exporters too posing an irreparable loss to the national economy.

PBF Lahore Chapter President and PFIA central leader Muhammad Ejaz Tanveer in a statement issued here on Thursday said that continuous upward journey of the US dollar has shook the whole economy. All the raw materials used by our industrial sectors are being imported even the cotton and yarn is imported by our leading export sector i.e., textile.

He said businesses are feeling them helpless to quote prices of their items for the local as well as foreign markets as changing rates of the dollar make their calculations impracticable. He claimed that even the banks have refused to open letter of credit (LCs) because of this scenario. “If such a development continued to happen then how could importers and other businesses operate,” he questioned.

Ejaz Tanveer said that political instability is also leading towards such developments as not only the government but whole economy is feeling the jolt.

He said political and economic development of the last couple of days will have a direct bearing on the welfare of ordinary people trying to cope with multi-year high inflation, increasing job losses and eroding purchasing power.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022