August 04, 2006	Friday	Rajab 8, 1427

KARACHI, Aug 3: Ghee manufacturers are facing acute shortage of edible oil due to ongoing strike called by representative bodies of oil tankers belonging to owners and contractors, which entered the fourth day on Thursday, industry sources told Dawn.

Sources said that the All Pakistan Oil Tankers Owners Association and the Edible Oil Contractors Association after failing to resolve some dispute arising among them called a strike and stopped lifting edible oil from Keamar1i terminals.

As a result of this supplies of edible oil, raw material for ghee-making industry, have been stopped to Karachi and the upcountry.

The industry feels that since these two transporters bodies have monopolised the lifting, there is no other alternate to lift edible oil from the port area.

It is being apprehended that if the dispute between the two oil tanker bodies is not resolved soon there will be a shortage of ghee and cooking oil in the country because the transporter associations are also not allowing the industry to make its own arrangements for lifting of edible oil.

Furthermore, the industry is also worried over the capacity as more ship loads of edible oil are on their way and if already stored oil was not removed from the storage tanks at Keamari this will result in long wait for vessels loaded with edible oil and result in huge losses in shape of heavy demurrage and other port charges.

The crisis may also give excuse to unscrupulous elements to capitalise upon the situation and result in price hike of ghee and edible oil which will be another blow the government which have already earned bad name on cement, sugar and stock exchange crisis, sources said.