A transport strike in Pakistan now entering its tenth day is expected to cost the country’s produce business about US$15m in lost export sales.
The strike by Pakistan’s transport industry has effectively halted freight traffic to and from Port Qasim and Karachi Port, stranding around 700 containers of kinnow and 500 of onions according to local media reports.
The situation is becoming critical, according to All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Importers and Exporters Association chairman Waheed Ahmad, and more than 250 kinnow packhouses in Sargodha are facing closure as a result of the strike.
Citrus shipments are backing up and packhouses and cool storage facilities are running out of room to store them properly, reported the Daily Times.
Beyond onions and kinnow, Pakistan has also apparently missed out on US$2m worth of potato orders from Sri Lanka, which exporters were unable to fill because of the strike and have been picked up by Indian suppliers.
The strike is a coordinated effort by the Karachi Goods Carriers Association, the All Pakistan Goods Transport Welfare Association, the KPT Goods Transport Owners Association, the Port Qasim Goods Transport Owners Association and the Sindh Goods Transport Owners Association, according to the Express Tribune.
The transport associations accuse Pakistan’s motorway police of harassing drivers and providing inadequate protection against a rising number of hijackings. The transport industry is hoping the strike will force the government to intervene.
Economy-wide losses from the strike are estimated at Rs75bn (US$772m) as of Wednesday, according to the Daily Times.
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