Indus & Suzuki Motors already closed
Naveed Ahmad Khan
Islamabad : The Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts & Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM) on Saturday appealed the government as well as the opposition parties to sit together and find ways to pull country out of the crises through dialogue, as two major tractor plants of Millat and Al-Ghazi have completely shutdown amidst uncertainties in the country.
In a joint statement, issued here, PAAPAM Senior vice chairman Usman Aslam Malik and LCCI President Kashif Anwar observed that we should save the state first, then politics, before we arrive at the point of no return.
A delegation of the Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts & Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM) led by SVC Usman Aslam Malik had met the President of Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), Kashif Anwar and Vice President Adnan Butt. The other PAAPAM delegates of this contingent consisted of VC PAAPAM, Taufiq Sherwani, former Chairman PAAPAM, Mumshad Ali, former VC Irfan Ahmed Qureshi, Javed Hafiz, Shouban Akhtar, and Secretary General Ghulam Murtaza. The meeting was held amid rampant uncertainties for the tractor and auto parts industry when Millat and Al-Ghazi Tractors plants shut down due to low sales and held sales tax refunds. The total closure of the tractor industry has put all stakeholders at staggering and crippling effects at the grassroots level. The SVC PAAPAM, Usman Aslam Malik, sensitized the government to the hovering food shortage if the Government did not take prompt measures to bail out the industry.
Both bodies also suggested the government to offer an amnesty scheme for foreign currency holders to channel. The earlier announcement of amnesty by the Government through voluntary disclosure of foreign currency would support the ebbing foreign reserves. The currency holders may be offered reasonable interest during a stipulated period before declaring them white.
Both leaders noted localization as the sustainable solution to economic problems. We need to prioritize the deletion of import as No.1 and export as No.2. They appreciated the Government scheme Jawan Rozgar but emphasized an agile mechanism to transfer its benefits to the grassroots level. We need to construct our economic muscles through indigenization. The fraternity leaders agreed about the plunging auto and tractor industries, which were becoming convoluted with the acute food insecurity for which we did not have any foreign exchange if we had to import. The joint declaration further said that the fair and exhibitions were the most effective tools to support foreign reserves, but ironically State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was creating podiums for the funds to Trade Development Authority (TDAP) to hold scheduled fairs. The import constraints on raw materials, machinery, and parts used in the process were imprudent decisions as it has shackled the industry and promoted employment vulnerability in the country. Government must contrast between luxury imports and raw materials; they pointed out.
Both the leadership showed consensus to sit together periodically on national issues and demanded the Government to constitute consistent and sustainable policies with broad-based consultation with the business community.
Earlier, Suzuki Motors suspended production activities from Jan 2 to till date. The firm stated that its supply chain is affecting due to restrictions of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The export consignments are affecting due to the conditional permission, said the company, adding that the restriction damaged the inventory.
Indus Motor Company already had announced to shut down its manufacturing plant due to the imposition of a ban on the imports of completely knocked down (CKD) kits by the central bank.