KARACHI: Rice exporters have alleged that shipping companies have made a cartel after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and claimed that they are blackmailing the exporters by charging record high freight charges.

They said the shipping companies issue the Container Release Order (CRO) and after some time unjustly cancel them which causes huge financial losses to the exporters.

At a press conference on Tuesday at REAP House, Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) senior vice chairman Mohammad Anwar Miannoor, along with Association’s members, said that the rice export sector is being neglected by the government ministries as exporters have become hostage in the hands of shipping companies.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2022