Auto Sector In Trouble, Demands Lifting Of Import Curbs

Web Desk — Auto players and vendors are in a state of paralysis due to severe paucity of foreign exchange and supply issues in parts.

Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) and Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM), in a joint letter, informed State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmed that the industry was facing immense problems as all supply lines of imported parts and accessories and tooling are completely blocked due to SBP’s restrictions and lack of cooperation from banks.

Factories, as a result, intermittently shut and workers are being retrenched by both the assemblers and their vendors. They warned that this scenario would lead to massive unemployment, loss of government revenue, closure of auto assembly plants, and flight of capital if corrective measures are not taken.

PAMA and PAAPAM said that direct and indirect controls imposed on the opening of letters of credit are the prime cause of the above industrial breakdown.