LAHORE: Rapid devaluation of Pak rupee will damage the economic cycle of the country besides scaring off international investors therefore State Bank of Pakistan should control this dilemma without wasting a single moment.
“Devaluation would lead to lower industrial productivity, surge debts, harm already struggling exports, inflation hike, reduce the purchasing power of the masses that would pose serious challenges for the economy.”
In a statement, the LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid, Senior Vice President Khawaja Khawar Rashid and Vice President Zeshan Khalil said that sudden devaluation of Pak rupee has raised complexities for all economic sectors. They said that surge in dollar price will increase the import bill as all imported oil, raw material and other essentials will go high.
They said that recent surge in the prices of the greenback would not only jack-up the cost of doing business but would also erode the profit margins.
They said that the State Bank of Pakistan needs to ascertain the factors weakening the value of rupee and check the possibilities of undue speculations and malpractices in the operation of foreign exchange markets in Pakistan. This will help stabilize rupee and restore the confidence of the business community.
The LCCI office-bearers said that an unchecked increase in the dollar rate will multiply the cost of doing business and badly affecting the industrial, manufacturing and agriculture sectors as Pakistan has to import fertilizers, food items, oil, machinery and industrial raw material.
They said that the government should take immediate measures to arrest further devaluation of rupee to avoid more damaging consequences for the economy.
They said though the weaker rupee benefits the exporters by giving them more rupees per dollar, but this benefit is neutralized by the costly imported inputs of manufacturing sector including textiles thus eroding the financial advantage of a weaker rupee.
They said that the economy was already under tremendous pressure owing to multiple internal and external challenges it has been facing for the last many years.
They said that today almost all sectors of economy are in deep trouble and a further fall in value of rupee will cause more contraction in economic activities leading to a drastic cut in the tax revenue for government.
The LCCI office-bearers said that if the greenback continues its upward trend, it will certainly inflate import bill besides lowering the competitiveness of Pakistan’s business and industry. Therefore, government should get quickly into action to arrest this dangerous trend.
