KARACHI, Nov 28: Over 90 per cent of the city’s industries remained shut on Friday because of the five-day Eid holidays including Sunday, thus resulting in massive production losses, delay in meeting export commitments and shipments.

Majority of the industrialists have termed the five-day holidays a “wrong and untimely decision of the government”. They said when the exporters were preparing to meet their export commitments of winter and Christmas seasons.

Exporters complained that the closure of ports and banks would certainly delay their shipments by a week time. They said like in the past when Eid holidays were observed for two days, “Industrialists used to manage things, but it is absolutely unfeasible to run the mills in longer holidays,” they said.

They said the government had taken the decision without evaluating its the negative impact on the economy. The worst victims of the decision are the weaving units because they have to manage enough capital to pay the double overtime to the labourers.

“It is absolutely a wrong decision of observing five days holidays,” Site Association of Industry chairman Haroon Farooqi told Dawn on Friday. He said that around 90 per cent of the industries in Site areas were closed.

He said the decision would result in failure of export commitments, expiry of letters of credit, production losses and delay in supply of raw materials from the city’s markets as well as form the up-country. He said the exporters would have to suffer a lot as December was closing near to meet the shipment deadlines for the Christmas and winter orders. “Any delay will lose the confidence of buyers.”

Site area comprises 2,400 small, medium and large sized units in which 50 per cent belong to textile related items. Around 400,000-500,000 people are directly and indirectly earning their livelihood in the city’s oldest industrial area.

Mr Haroon said industrialists might have considered operating their units in longer holidays if the cotton crisis would have overcome. Till today there is uncertainty over cotton prices, besides non-availability of yarn, thus pushing up yarn prices by 30 per cent in a month.

He said shipments to up-country and even to foreign destinations might be delayed for five days or a week due to five-day holidays. He said similar conditions were likely to prevail on Saturday.

Korangi Association of Trade and Industry chairman Mian Zahid Hussain also portrayed the same picture over the outcome of holidays. According to him, around 98 per cent of industries remained closed on Friday. Only the weaving sector has been operating their industries as majority of workers are on contract basis and working on per yard basis.

“The government has not taken a right decision of observing five holidays instead of two,” he said, adding many industrialists would have to pay the double overtime if they had called the workforce to meet the urgent foreign commitments. Korangi industrial area has over 1,200 units in which 30-40 per cent are textile oriented.

Landhi Association of Trade and Industry chairman Bashir Ali Mohammad said that over 95 per cent of industries were closed on Friday, resulting in suspension of shipments and clearance of export consignments at the ports. “I tell you, all the big mills are closed on Friday in Landhi area,” he said, adding that one or two days holidays are enough.

Former Aptma vice-chairman Mushtaq Vohra termed the five-day holidays unfair and said the decision would have a far reaching impact on the economy.

“All the small mills are totally closed,” he said, adding if a mill has 300 employees then the miller has to manage Rs500,000-600,000 as overtime payment for three days. He said long holidays would result in shortage of raw materials to the millers.

Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association chairman Fawad Ijaz Khan said the five-day holidays was definitely a big loss to the exporters whose Christmas and winter shipments were bound to get late due to multiple reasons.

“The last week of November is the most important and peak season for the exporters as they have to meet the deadline of December 5-6. Our shipments reaching beyond the deadline will become unfeasible for the buyers who are already annoyed with the current delays,” he said.