September 29, 2007	Saturday	Ramazan 16, 1428

KARACHI, Sept 28: Consumers are likely to pay 25 per cent more on children garments, shoes, gents’ suiting for Eid as the customs agrees to release 670 held up containers after phenomenal increase in valuation of these items.

Markets in Karachi are likely to get new Eid items from Saturday, while consumers of upcountry markets will see the new arrivals in the markets after three to four days when over 500 containers will reach their respective destinations.

In children garments, the customs agreed to clear the stuff on higher valuation of $3.60 per kg as compared with $1.60, while in shoes, the department is releasing the stocks after 25-30 per cent increase in valuation.

Chairman Tariq Road Traders Action Committee (TRTAC) Siddiq Memon said that the representatives of importers had agreed to pay Rs300,000 more on each container after negotiations with the customs officials.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had not issued any rules for higher assessment of value of imported items for clearing the goods and customs is doing this on its own, he added.

The customs had detained these containers since September 11 as some officials were allegedly demanding extra money from the importers to mark the special Eid festival. The traders said that the 670 containers belonged to some 50 importers all over the country, including eight importers of Karachi.

Giving reasons about possible increase in prices of these items he said traders/shop owners visited China, Thailand and Indonesia to purchase these items. The traders after purchasing the items hand them over to the importers’ agents and they put the goods in the shipping companies’ warehouses.

Now it is agents’ responsibility to ship the goods to Karachi in 25 days and get it released from the Pakistani port. These agents are now demanding higher carrying charges of Rs50 for one piece of children garments and shoes as compared to Rs25 while in gents trousers, T-shirts, shirts etc they are demanding Rs80 per piece as compared to Rs40.

To a query that many shopkeepers were already charging 100 per cent higher rates, he said the rates will come down naturally when supplies in the markets improve with the release of 670 containers loaded with Rs4.5 billion of goods. However, the shopkeepers will recover the higher valuation cost from the customers by charging at least 25 per cent more on these items, he added.

He said China enjoyed 90 per cent market share in children garments in Pakistan followed by Indonesia 7 per cent and Thailand 3 per cent. In children shoes China virtually rules with almost 100 per cent market share while in gents suiting China enjoys 90 per cent market share followed by Thailand 10 per cent.