Pakistan’s two leading car assemblers, Toyota and Suzuki, plan to partially shut their plants next month due to unavailability of raw materials amid import restrictions and exchange rate volatility in the country, Reuters reported.
“There will be 10 working days next month, only if the central bank allows us to open a letter of credit based on the quota they promised,” Ali Asghar Jamali, chief executive at Indus Motor Company Ltd. which assembles Toyota vehicles in Pakistan, was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The company was offering refunds to customers facing delays and markups on their payments, with deliveries likely to be delayed by at least three months. The prices may also go up in the coming weeks.
Pak Suzuki, which assembles Suzuki vehicles locally, reflected similar concerns.
“Restrictions had adversely impacted clearance of import consignments from ports,” said Shafiq A. Shaikh, the head of public relations for Pak Suzuki Motors.
The unavailability of materials may result in a plant shutdown in August, he said.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has said that “The foreign currency reserves have declined to 9.3 billion dollars, but the reserves are sufficient for 45 days of imports.”
The coalition government will continue to keep the imports in a reasonable limit for the next two to three months,” the federal minister said. “Pakistan is expected to receive more dollars from abroad in the next two weeks which will help remove pressure over the rupee,” the minister said.