LAHORE: Pakistan Chemical Manufacturers Association (PCMA) has warned that if chemical industry is not allowed to work, the whole industrial wheel across the country will come to a halt forcing million of the industrial workers to be jobless.
Abrar Ahmad, Chairman and Iqbal Kidwai, Secretary General of PCMA, informed that almost all the industries are dependent upon chemical industry for input chemicals to produce their products and production of all essential products would stop if chemical industry does not resume operation to make input-chemicals for them. Such industries include food, pharma, soap, detergents, fertilizers, pesticides, construction, power plants, water treatment plants, export oriented industries like textile, garments, cotton gloves, allied fabrics knitted & woven dyed, home care, body care, health care, sanitizers, hand wash, shampoos, laundry soap, laundry detergent powders and leather industry, they said and lamented that the government while permitting operation to essential industries during Corona lock down has been disregarding the significance of chemical industries’ operation.
PCMA office bearers have urged the Prime Minister and Hammad Azhar, PM Advisor on Industries and Production that chemical industries should immediately be allowed to open up production process.
However, they have assured of laying down the responsible safety protocols against COVID-19. We are also ready to restrict the permission of the required industrial operation with formulation of the safety protocols as well as a written undertaking for strict implementation on the approved precautionary protocols, they said and warned that further disruption of the chemical industry will halt the industrial wheel of all essential manufacturing including the export led industries due to unavailability of the input chemicals very soon that will suspend millions of jobs involved in the aforementioned industries.
