According to a letter the company sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the shutdown will now last from February 20 to February 21, 2023. The company has halted production for the fifth time in 2023, with the motorcycle plant remaining open.
A major component of PSMC’s business is to assemble, manufacture, and market Suzuki cars, pickups, vans, 4x4s, motorcycles, and spare parts locally. As a result of the lack of dollars in the market, import-based businesses have found it challenging to stay afloat. As a result, the government has not been able to increase its foreign exchange reserves, which are at a critical level of $3 billion, barely enough for a month’s worth of imports.
Business leaders have urged the government to allow the manufacturing materials stuck at Karachi’s key port into the country. Millions of jobs will be lost if the ban on imports is not lifted. The government has prohibited all but essential food and medicine imports until a lifeline bailout is agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Lack of raw materials, high inflation, rising fuel prices, and a falling rupee have all hurt the manufacturing sector. These problems have affected Pakistan’s economy and made it difficult for businesses to continue operating.
The extension of PSMC’s auto plant shutdown is a sign of the persistent inventory shortages that many companies in Pakistan are experiencing. Supporting the nation’s industries and stabilising its economy will depend heavily on the government’s efforts to increase foreign exchange reserves and lift import restrictions.
