Business

Dollar crunch to force import suspension of eatables, drinks in Pakistan

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Grocers association says all banks have refused to provide dollars.
No shipment would be cleared that was dispatched after June 25.
Importers responsible for clearance of goods that have reached.

KARACHI: Owing to the non-availability of dollars, commercial importers have announced to stop the import of all eatables and drinks from June 25, The News reported Monday.

According to a statement issued by Karachi Wholesale Grocers Association Secretary Farhat Siddique, all banks have refused to provide them with dollars.

After a thorough discussion, the association decided that importers should inform their indenters that no shipment should be dispatched after June 25.

The importers are only responsible for the clearance of goods that have reached the port or are on the way. No shipment would be cleared that was dispatched after June 25.

The association lamented that due to lack of foreign currency, thousands of containers are stuck at the port and they are paying fines and other charges on them.

The statement said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is not providing the much-needed foreign exchange and its policies are extremely harmful to the country’s economy.

Left with barely enough foreign exchange reserves to cover one month’s imports, the coalition government is desperately trying to manage a balance of payments crisis and bring inflation under control after it hit a record of nearly 38% last month.

The dollar crunch, restrictions on imports, and delay in opening letters of credit have severely affected several sectors of the country as none of them met the growth targets set for the fiscal year 2022-23.

Business

E&P Companies Will Invest $5 Billion in Pakistan’s Petroleum Industry

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Over the next three years, local and foreign companies involved in Pakistan’s oil and gas exploration and production sector have shown a strong desire to invest more than $5 billion in the nation’s energy sector.

Recent changes to the Petroleum Policy and the implementation of an exclusive tight gas policy, which provide better incentives and a more investor-friendly regulatory framework, are credited with the increase in investor confidence.

These strategic changes are expected to boost domestic energy production, open up new avenues for growth, and draw large amounts of both domestic and foreign investment.

Business

With inflation slowing, the SBP is anticipated to lower the policy rate for the eighth time in a row.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Businesspeople anticipate another reduction in the policy rate when the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) releases the updated rate.

The interest rate for the upcoming two months will be announced by the central bank. It is still unclear if the rate will stay the same or be lowered to reflect stakeholder expectations.

According to experts, the policy rate will be lowered in order to further boost the nation’s economic sector.

Interest rates may be lowered for the seventh time in a row if the inflation rate declines significantly more than anticipated.

In its last six sessions, the MPC had cut the policy rate by 10 percent. In January 2025, it decreased the rate by one percent to 12pc.

12PC POLICY RATE

In January, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced cut in key policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 12 percent from 13pc in line with expectations of the business community.

The policy rate, which had been at 22 percent since June 2024, was slashed by 1,000 basis points to 12 percent.

The SBP governor said the decision was taken with careful consideration. “Although inflation is expected to decline next month (February), core inflation remains a pressing concern,” he stated.

Ahmed highlighted strong remittance inflows and robust export growth as key factors supporting the current account.