RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) has expressed concern over delay in opening letters of credit (LCs) for importing different raw material and demanded Finance Minister Miftah Ismail to intervene and expedite the process.

RCCI President Nadeem Rauf in a statement said many industries were now facing shortage of raw material and were on the verge of cutting their production.

He said the key products included home appliances, air conditioners, generators, telecom, steel and automobiles. Importers are worried due to non-opening of LCs.

Factories importing raw material for producing food, medicines and iron are now facing serious supply constraints.

“Due to non-release of our import documents and consequent non-availability of raw material, the manufacturing units are on the verge of closure,” he said.

He said despite lifting of the import ban by the government, delay in opening of LCs for essential machinery, equipment and spare parts was a matter of grave concern for traders.

Mr Rauf said the current economic situation was very disturbing; SMEs and large-scale industry are suffering from slowness.

Production has stopped due to unavailability of spare parts, bank payments are not being made, operational expenses are also becoming difficult to meet, increasing the fear of unemployment, he added.

He said large firms in Pakistan rely on imported raw materials/parts, which run our industries.

He appealed to the finance minister and the governor State Bank to take immediate notice of the situation and open the LCs.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2022