‘Govt must resolve exporters issues’

KARACHI: Exporters urged the government to look into improper repacking facilities for goods opened for examination at ports that cause monetary and orders' losses.

Zulfikar Thaver, president of Union of Small and Medium Enterprises said the small and medium exporters, commercial exporters and the new entrants are suffering losses due to the costs and time involved in opening of cargo for examination and unavailability of repacking facilities at ports. The exporters also face monetary claims from overseas exporters.

“Scanners are perhaps outdated and below international standard compelling the authorities both the Anti Narcotics Force and the customs to carry out costly and time tacking physical examination," Thaver said. All shipments of commercial exporters are subject to examination while shipments of manufacturers and regular exporters are randomly examined.

Thaver regretted the attitude of authorities as they treat new entrants and small exporters with suspicion. “Opening of cargo is a tedious job and repacking it is another tough job because the factory packing gets spoiled and the port terminal handlers charge a lot of money and do not pack it properly, even sometimes just dump it back again in the container without bothering about neatness and specified packing resulting in complaints from buyers," he said. "Advanced scanning systems need to be installed at ports to ensure fast and efficient clearance of export cargoes."

A customs official said the authority is aware of the problems faced by the exporters. "Customs have been demanding of advanced equipment and other resources to facilitate trade," the official said. "Until then physical examination of export cargo is the only option."