Day 9: No space for containers at ports due to goods transporters' strike

KARACHI: As the goods transporters' strike entered its ninth day on Tuesday, there was no more space at ports to hold more containers.

Since goods transporters have refused to carry goods from the ports to the markets, the containers stand full at Karachi International Container Terminal and Pakistan International Container Terminal. 

If the strike continues, speculations suggest people in the country might face a shortage of food items.

Moreover, the export goods were also not being transported to the ports, hindering the delivery of orders. For instance, the export of fruits and vegetables, of which Pakistan is a rich market, was also being affected.    

Besides, the imported raw material also sat unused in the containers at the ports as it was not being supplied to the destined factories, inflicting a loss of billions on manufacturers.  

“Goods in thousands of containers are in factories, as the capacity of warehouses has been exhausted,” said an exporter, adding irrevocable damage could be caused if the issue is not resolved on an immediate basis.

Exports from across the country worth Rs48 billion are said to have been halted due to the strike, with businessmen facing losses worth millions every day.

On Saturday, the Sindh High Court ordered that the ban on entry of heavy traffic in the port city persists. 

Transporters had entered into a strike to protest heavy vehicles being barred from moving inside the city, due to which goods worth millions of rupees sit immobile in warehouses.

Traders, industrialists, and manufacturers alike have slammed the strikers for causing a severe bottleneck in the supply of basic necessities and other imported goods that sit idle at the port, hoarding the containers, which, in turn, have resulted in export consignments being unable to get loaded and sent off.