Containers have been held up at Karachi's port as Pakistan grapples with a desperate foreign exchange crisis. A shortage of crucial dollars has left banks refusing to issue new letters of credit for importers, hitting an economy already squeezed by soaring inflation and lacklustre growth. He was speaking from an office near Karachi port, where shipping containers are stuck waiting for payment guarantees -- packed with lentils, pharmaceuticals, diagnostic equipment and chemicals for Pakistan's manufacturing industries. A shortage of crucial dollars has left banks refusing to issue new letters of credit for importers. Some factories have complained of a backlog of imported raw materials such as dyes, buttons, zippers and spare parts for machinery held up at the Karachi port.

Source: Daily Nation January 15, 2023 03:12 UTC