December 15, 2007	Saturday	Zilhaj 4, 1428

KARACHI, Dec 14: Shortage of trucks and lorries, which are mostly engaged in transporting sacrificial animals, is jeopardising export of many seasonal produces. The worst affected are exporters dealing in rice, molasses, fresh fruits and vegetables as they regularly need trucks and bowsers for the haulage from hinterland to port city of Karachi.

Due to pressing demand, the transporters have doubled their charges which is also causing anxiety among exporters who in order to meet their export commitments are bound to bear extra cost.

There is a shortage of all sorts of transport, including trucks, lorries and bowsers.

Major crops of the country are harvested in Rabi season which also include cotton, rice, sugarcane and there is always great demand for trucks and lorries, as well as bowsers to carry these produces from farm to processing mills and then to domestic markets as well as to port city for export markets.However, as Ziqa’ad and Zilhaj have fallen at such a time when these major crops are also being harvested and have to be transported from farm to processing units, like ginneries, sugar mills and rice processing units and then onward to market places, but transporters are engaged in carrying animals to cities from rural areas. Consequently, export trade of such produce has been affected badly and many exporters are faced with cancellation of their export contracts on expiry of their Letters of Credit (L/Cs).

Another major item of the season is kinoo which is largely exported to Middle East and European market and earns a great deal of foreign exchange.

The rice crop, whose harvesting also started about two months back is in full bloom because paddy is being transported from fields to processing mills and then to market places for domestic consumption. However, larger quantities of Irri-6 and Basmati have to be exported.

But in the absence of adequate transport facilities, many small and medium-sized rice exporters are in a quandary as they could not get any transport to haulage their produce from interior of Sindh and Punjab to port city of Karachi.

It is being feared many exporters may lose their export contracts if no immediate corrective measures are taken.

Another compelling pressure on transport industry due to winter season is the great demand for bowsers which are mostly used for carrying furnace oil from Karachi to thermal power stations located in different parts of the country.

This creates shortage of bowsers for carrying molasses and alcohol from interior of NWFP, Punjab and Sindh.

During initial crushing season which normally starts in the month of November, there is a great demand from foreign buyers for molasses because of being of prime quality.

However, due to shortage of bowsers, the haulage of molasses and alcohol from sugar mills and distilleries has slowed down and many exporters have to pay demurrage of around $20,000 per day for keeping a vessel at port over and above its normal waiting time.

A spokesman for transporters Tariq Afridi told Dawn that presently around 600 bowsers are detained at the thermal power station located at Muzaffarghar because one of the contracting companies on charges of adulteration is not allowing them to discharge their furnace oil.

He further said this was not only causing shortage of bowsers in the market but was also creating harassment as owners are reluctant to enter into furnace oil haulage contract fearing heavy penalties and long delays in unloading of furnace oil.

Mr Afridi said those who give illegal gratification to the management of the thermal power station get away with everything and are accommodated at the earliest for unloading.

Though cotton crop has mostly found its way to spinners and the export market, a fairly a large quantity of phutti is yet to arrive to ginneries and from there to spinning industry.

Spinners also complain that due to shortage of trucks and lorries and high charges being demand, their stocks of cotton are dwindling fast.

Zulfikar Thaver, president Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame), told Dawn that the government should come out with permanent solution for such a situation, and suggested that the National Logistic Cell (NLC) would be the best to fill in the gap for a short period and help country’s export trade from being ruined or damaged.