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Food supply at risk as banks reluctant to open LCs

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  • Thousands of shipping containers stuck at Karachi Port.
  • Banks should facilitate import of necessary items: SBP.
  • Banks reluctant in opening LCs for import of necessities.

KARACHI: Despite the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) directives about import facilitation, the banks remain hesitant in opening letters of credit (LCs) for the import of necessities, posing threat to the food supply, The News reported Friday.

Due to the banks’ reluctance to guarantee foreign exchange payments, thousands of shipping containers — including perishable, and non-perishable foodstuffs and medical supplies — are stuck at the Karachi Port after offloading.

The banks show reluctance in opening letters of credit for the import of necessities like edible oil and pulses. This could also escalate price pressures and create a shortage of medications. Last month, the SBP lifted import restrictions that went into force on January 2.

“In view of the orders issued last month, the SBP has given banks the power to facilitate imports. Thus, banks are not restricted from opening LCs for the importation of essentials such as food and medicine. Banks are free to make their own decisions on the opening of LCs,” SBP spokesman Abid Qamar told The News.

According to the SBP, banks should give preference to or facilitate imports that fit into the category of necessary imports, such as those related to food (wheat, edible oil, etc.) and pharmaceuticals (raw materials, life-saving/essential medications, and surgical devices, including stents).

The SBP has also directed banks to prioritise imports of energy, goods by export-oriented businesses and inputs for agriculture.

More than 6,000 containers of pulses are stuck at ports, according to Abdul Rauf Ibrahim, chairman of the Karachi Wholesale Groceries Association. Banks have reservations about paying for these imports.

“This threatens the nation’s capacity to import these basic foods. Importers have paid shipping companies $48 million in detention fees for these stranded containers. In the month of Ramazan, there would be a new problem in the supply and cost of pulses if these containers are not released,” Ibrahim said.

Banks have been advised by SBP to prioritise certain essentials and export-related imports. However, they need to either match their own foreign currency receipts with outgoings or procure shortfalls from other banks in the interbank market, according to Ehsan Malik, the CEO of Pakistan Business Council (PBC).

“Following the wide Rs25-40 spread between the interbank rate and other open market rates, approximately Rs400 million monthly remittances from overseas Pakistanis have moved from banking channels to the havala system,” Malik said.

“The reduced availability of forex in the interbank market therefore constraints the ability of banks to meet their clients’ import needs,” he added.

The PBC has pointed out to the government that aside from political uncertainty and the outflow of dollars to Afghanistan, the main reason for the growing spread between the official and open market rates for the US dollar was hoarding in the expectation of significant devaluation of the rupee.

The spreads on other currencies is not as significant as the US dollar because they are not regarded as a store of value as much as the US dollar or gold is, and we have seen rates of both go up.

“PBC has suggested two options, aside from stemming the outflow of dollars to Afghanistan. The first is to offer PKR bonds, returns on which are linked to the movement in PKR value relative to the US dollar. This would remove the need to acquire dollars and reduce the demand pressure,” Malik said.

The second is to allow exporters and overseas Pakistanis to convert part of their export proceeds/remittances into “tradable import credits”. This would also help balance supply with demand of the dollar in the open market as well as incentivise exporters and overseas Pakistanis to remit through official channels, he explained.

Tradable import credits would also offer the opportunity of items not on the priority list of SBP to be imported. A criticism levelled against the aforementioned suggestions is that they perpetuate multiple exchange rates.

The current reality is that three rates already exist for the dollar and the above recommendations would help narrow the spread, he noted.

Malik said that as long as political and economic uncertainty prevails, there would be a spread between the interbank and open market rates and “until we learn to live within our means, there will be a shortfall of forex for imports”.

He said there was a limit to how much and for how long friendly countries and multilaterals can provide breathing space and fund our consumption.

“In the immediate time frame when our liquidity and solvency is in question, it is imperative that we secure IMF support for another programme. Even with that, we will need to find breathing space for fundamental reforms,” Malik said.

“This can be facilitated by re-profiling our debt through advice from sovereign debt advisors. Pakistan is not alone in seeking restructuring of debt. Sovereign debt advisors are engaged by over 20 countries,” he added.

Pakistan is grappling with a balance of payments crisis brought on by high foreign debt repayments and a lack of external financing, which have hammered its foreign reserves and created chronic dollar shortages.

As of January 6, the SBP’s foreign exchange reserves plummeted to almost a nine-year low of $4.3 billion, posing a significant challenge for the country in terms of financing imports.

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Petrol prices are expected to experience another increase in Pakistan.

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The inflation-affected nation is expected to encounter another increase in petrol prices, with recommendations indicating a rise of Rs. 2.58 per litre for petrol and Rs. 5.91 per litre for high-speed diesel.

Sources indicate that, if sanctioned, petrol prices will ascend to Rs. 250.96 per litre, whereas high-speed diesel will be priced at Rs. 261.05 per litre.

Sources indicated that the suggested increase is due to the elevated premium on petroleum products in the worldwide market and rising import expenses.

The premium on imported petroleum products has increased, leading the government to contemplate pricing modifications effective November 16, sources indicated.

On October 31, the federal government published the prices of petroleum products for the upcoming fortnight, increasing the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel.

A notification announced an increase in petrol price by Rs 1.35, raising it to Rs 248.38 a litre. The price of high-speed diesel was fixed at Rs 255.14 per litre after an increase of Rs 3.85.

Also read: Pakistan’s weekly inflation jumps to 15.02pc

Simultaneously, the costs of light diesel and kerosene oil were reduced. The statement states that kerosene oil is priced at Rs 148.5 per litre following a reduction of Rs 4.92.

The cost of light fuel was reduced by Rs 2.61 to Rs 147.51 per litre.

The rampant hike in the prices came at the time when the weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed an increase of 0.28 percent for the combined consumption groups during the week ended on October 17, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

According to the PBS data, the SPI for the week under review in the above-mentioned group was recorded at 319.79 points as compared to 318.91 points during the past week.

In comparison to the same week last year, the SPI for the combined consumption group during the reviewed week experienced a 15.02 percent increase.

The weekly SPI with the base year 2015-16 =100 covers 17 urban centres and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups.

Likewise, SPI for the lowest consumption group of up to Rs 17,732 witnessed increase of 0.27 percent and went up to 313.74 points from last week’s 312.91 points.

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PIA Privatization Is Referred to the Cabinet Committee by the Privatization Commission Board Meeting

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The privatization of Pakistan International Airlines has been referred to a cabinet committee by the Privatization Commission Board.

Aleem Khan, the Federal Minister for Privatization and Communications, presided over the board meeting, which examined and accepted proposals on a number of topics, including the privatization of Pia.

The government would move forward with privatization in line with the law and in Pakistan’s best interests, Federal Minister Aleem Khan reaffirmed.

He added that the entire privatization process for the PITA and other state agencies would be expedited and simplified.

Following prequalification, the Privatization Commission is unable to remove any department or institution from Privatization, as was decided during the meeting.

Additionally, the Federal Minister directed that the pre-qualifying conditions and privatization be made more profitable.

Members of the Privatization Commission will be included in the Privatization Process through a three-member committee.

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Gas production from the Dera Bugti well commences at 5 MMSCFD.

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Dera Bugti, Balochistan is home to a freshly drilled well that the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has started producing gas from.

The natural gas output of Pakistan has been significantly boosted by this breakthrough.

A letter sent by OGDCL to the Pakistan Stock Exchange states that the well is generating five million standard cubic feet of gas each day, which is quite an astounding amount.

The Uch Gas Processing Plant has been effectively connected with the gas output, which will help distribute and streamline the increased gas supply. The Dera Bugti well is fully owned by OGDCL, the biggest exploration and production company in the country, as stated in its letter to the PSX.

In response to a decline in power demand, Pakistan opted to divert its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to local users on November 12th.

This article also discusses Pakistan’s decision to use imported LNG for domestic use.

The Ministry of Petroleum has estimated that an amount of Rs163 billion will be necessary to fund the supply of LNG to households in the country. According to sources, the pressure on pipelines is continuously increasing due to the imported LNG.

Confirmation from reliable sources indicates that 600 MMcfd of LNG has been consumed by the power industry. Since captive power facilities are being shut down, there will be an excess of 150MMcfd of LNG, and the gas industry is also making 400 billion rupees from captive electricity.

To solve the problem of circular debt, the government intends to raise gas pricing and do away with the tariff differential between domestic gas and LNG imports.

There is a current tariff of Rs1,550 per MMcfd on domestic gas and Rs3,500 per MMcfd on imported LNG. The government hopes to earn Rs200 billion by removing this tariff difference. As a part of the larger strategy to raise government revenue, the tariff for fertiliser firms will also be hiked.

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