Karachi: President of Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum and former Chairman FPCCI, Mian Zahid Hussain, has warned that if Pakistani exporters fail to honor their commitments to international buyers and orders are canceled, it will have a devastating and long-term impact on the country’s export sector.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Energy and the Petroleum Division have previously procured LNG cargoes from the spot market. Given the current critical gas shortfall, there is no alternative but to immediately purchase spot LNG cargoes from the international market to maintain the country’s gas supply and demand balance.
While acknowledging that purchasing expensive gas on the spot market will increase the cost of doing business in the short term, he argued that this temporary financial burden is far less damaging than a complete industrial shutdown, crippled production capacity, and a catastrophic loss of exports.
Mian Zahid Hussain further urged the government to strictly implement a prioritized gas allocation mechanism. He demanded that available domestic gas and imported LNG must be channeled to industrial processes and the export-oriented sector on a priority basis to sustain economic momentum and ensure economically viable utilization of resources.
Welcoming the government’s efforts towards macroeconomic stabilization, which have improved foreign exchange reserves, he noted that despite the recent regional tensions, Pakistan’s economic and diplomatic performance has been recognized globally. However, he emphasized that the real measure of success is keeping the industrial wheel running at full capacity.
The business community is confident that the government will immediately secure alternative LNG supplies and ensure that the manufacturing sector is not sacrificed during this energy crisis.
