June 25, 2006	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1427

KARACHI, June 24: Cement importers seek prime minister’s intervention to resolve the ongoing dispute over the quality of imported cement.

Three ships with an average load of 25,000 tons cement are currently waiting for berths. The importers who commissioned these deliveries are incurring a loss of around $15,000 per day on account of demurrage, port charges and retention.

The officers concerned have been holding meetings for the last 20 days but failed to resolve the issue. To avert losses some importers are trying to divert their ships loaded with cement.

“We have imported cement at a minimum profit margin on the request of the government to resolve the cement crisis and check rising prices in the domestic market,” lamented a leading cement importer. “The situation, however, has changed and today cement importers are in a fix and facing huge financial losses.”

Importers claim that they are importing cement from multinational companies which supply around 2.2 million tons to Canada, the Gulf, the US and Europe. They also argue that standard and quality specifications followed by the Customs authorities are laid down by the Pakistan Standard, a body with doubtful credentials.

The Customs authorities implemented PS-232/1983, but the lab report of cement unloaded by the first ship was at 4.25 per cent MGO, which was within the world standard which lays down maximum MGO at five per cent.

Raees Ashraf Tarmohammad, President of the Pakistan Commodity Importers Association, told Dawn that at present GB-12/1997 or BS-12/1999 standards were being followed worldwide for cement, but the Customs authorities were following PS-232/1983 which was no more relevant with the world quality standard.

He said according to the Pakistan Standard, 3.5 per cent MGO was also acceptable for OPC cement and maximum of six per cent MGO for slag cement. Mr Tarmohammad said the lab test carried for the imported cement by HEJ of the Karachi University gave 3.28 per cent MGO whereas the Pakistan Standard allowed up to four per cent MGO.

The government, he said, was reluctant to take a decision because of powerful pressure groups.

ABAD Chairman Hanif Butt told Dawn that some vested interest were active in discouraging cement import, adding that it would have direct bearing on mega projects being carried out by the government for developing country’s infrastructure. The ABAD chief said the only way-out was to bring down cement prices by allowing free import of cement, but this was being sabotaged by strong lobby of cement manufacturers in connivance with some government departments.