Closure of Torkham, Chaman borders denting businesses

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has invited the attention of Prime Minister Imran Khan towards an alarming situation for Pakistani exporters who are anxiously waiting for their orders for goods from the Torkham and Chaman for more than a month due to closure of borders, a statement said.

Zeeshan Nazim, an exporter said that mostly goods are perishable; and the exporters have so far lost over $3.8 billion business unnecessarily, as orders are either cancelled or on halt with no other options left.

He said the dilemma is that there is a 700 per cent increase in freight rates from shipping lines and they are only giving bookings to those big exporters who can afford to pay an additional 20 per cent rates than the market rates.

Unisame president Zulfikar Thaver said that this is unfortunate, as no government agency is taking notice and acting on this highly important issue and not comprehending the fact that this is ruining businesses and is suicidal for the SME entrepreneurs, as the goods may not remain in exportable condition due to the border closure.

Masood Khan, a leading land route exporter, said trillions of rupees worth of goods will go down the drain and many SME entrepreneurs will not be in a position to stand on their feet again.

The Unisame Council warned that if the border is not opened, it will result in chaos and an uncontrollable situation and will be devastating for all the stakeholders and perhaps would prove to be the last nail in the coffin of the border trade.