Vegetables worth $5.4m stuck at port

Commodity importers and drug makers continue to face problems in opening letters of credit (LCs) for the import of raw materials and finished products because of a shortage of dollars in the interbank market. All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) Chairman Mohammad Shehzad Sheikh told the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday that 417 containers worth more than $5.4 million — 250 of onions worth $2.1m, 63 of ginger valuing $0.8m, and 104 of garlic amounting to $2.5m — were currently held up on various terminals of the Karachi Port. The reason for the holdup is said to be the refusal by commercial banks to release documents because of the shortage of foreign exchange. The inordinate delay in the clearance of vegetables will drastically increase their costs on account of terminal and shipping charges, Mr Sheikh said. As a result, consumers will have to pay higher prices, he added. He urged the ministry to take immediate notice of the situation.