Appeal to PM to helpcurb steel smuggling from Iran, Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: The steel industry has demanded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif take action against ongoing smuggling of steel from neighbouring countries, causing huge losses to the national exchequer.

A letter, written by the Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers (PALSP) to Prime Minister on Monday, said it was encouraging to know that the government was taking strict action against smuggling, which was a serious threat to the country’s economy.

“Effectively addressing smuggling could be a low hanging fruit for the government at this difficult economic situation, as the country can reap immediate benefits by halting this menace,” said the letter.

The letter said that large-scale smuggling of steel from Iran and Afghanistan, coupled with some other factors, was destroying the local steel industry. The industry is fighting on many fronts for survival and facing a very challenging situation due to massive currency depreciation, high financial cost as well as massive increase in cost of different inputs, added the letter.

The production activity was on the halt due to shortage of raw materials, and many mills were working on a small fraction of their capacity, it added. The letter said approximately 500,000MT steel was being smuggled from two neighbouring countries annually, which was approximately 10pc of the total steel being produced in the country. According to a conservative estimate, the menace was causing revenue loss of around Rs 25 billion to the national exchequer annually.

The letter claimed that over 80pc steel being sold in Balochistan was coming from Iran through smuggling. It said during March 2023, smuggled large trucks/trailers of steel from Iran were caught in Lahore and Customs department lodged cases against the smugglers. Also, in the first week of April, a truck full of steel overturned near the Chaman border. The steel (rebars) was being smuggled from Afghanistan through Chaman border.