Surge in salt price
KARACHI
Ismail Suttar, Chairman Salt Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (SMAP) urges PMDC not to deviate from its main statutory function of exploration, development, preservation, and production of salt mines.
Ismail said SMAP being the standard bearer of Pink Salt Industry is of the considered opinion that over the years PMDC has imposed vague and discriminatory pricing policies at the mines which has declined the salt production exponentially.
Ismail says PMDC cannot clearly comprehend the massive destruction caused to the salt industry due to global inflation which has left the demand of Pink Himalayan Salt fall by half and adding to the closure of this industry are the operational costs which have reached to the unbearable limits with expensive electricity and fuel charges that has led to the shutdown of most facilities.
Currently, Pakistan is severely affected by torrential rains and flooding that has affected transportation routes within the county.
This havoc has already badly affected the salt manufacturers and exporters in terms of high inland freight costs and the unjustified exorbitant surge in the raw material price will prove to be the last nail in the industry’s coffin.
PMDC is undervaluing the adverse effects on the salt industry with Pakistan’s economic turmoil and has doubled the price of pink salt without taking on board SMAP which is the only representative body of Salt Manufacturers and Exporters in Pakistan. This ruthless and selfish decision has caused massive scale of unemployment which has left hundreds of thousands of people struggling for survival in the areas of Quaidabad and Kalabagh.
Chairman SMAP, says “the salt industry is on the brink of collapse in the next couple of days if productive collaborations with SMAP are not taken by PMDC in the next few days.”
