Unemployment crisis is increasing rapidly in Pakistan due to efforts to reduce trade deficit by banning imports. This information has been revealed in a report.
According to a report in the newspaper Dawn, “A large number of companies are reducing production or shutting down operations due to the shortage of raw materials. Dozens of companies have issued notices to stop production in recent months.
The report said that curbing the import of raw materials to improve the trade balance is giving rise to a major crisis. All the production units of Dowlance, a private company, are closed since the beginning of 2023. The company faced import-related issues in May 2022.
According to the report, the company’s CEO said that in August 2022, the central bank had fixed a quota of 38 per cent of last year’s imports, but the situation worsened due to red tape.
He said that if a small part of an equipment is missing, then the entire export comes to a standstill. Thus production has come to a complete standstill. According to renowned economist Hafiz-e-Pasha, the unemployment rate in Pakistan will increase to 10 percent by the end of 2022-23. According to the data, exports have also declined by 23 percent in February on an annual basis.
