LAHORE:Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday urged the government to issue policy on import of raw materials.
Acting LCCI President Zafar Mehmood Chaudhry said in a media statement that industrial closure due to shortage of raw materials would be a new phenomenon in coming days. He said that the banks’ refusal to issue LCs (Letters of Credit) was delaying the industry’s access to raw materials. He claimed that as a result, the industry’s ability to meet local market demand and the volume of exports were declining.
He said that lack of available raw materials was causing businesses to lay off employees and shop owners to stop employing new employees, which had doubled the jobless rate.
Zafar Mehmood feared that economy would suffer if the raw material shortfall was not addressed.
He said that right now, there was no policy for the import of raw materials, therefore the government should publish a policy declaration on the pressing problem, besides resolving the LCs problem on priority.