Recent raids in different cities have created fear among smugglers due to which the illegal activity has seen a dip in the market.
However, the government should continue this drive or the tyre smugglers will regain their foothold, said the General Tyre Chief Executive Shahid Hussain said.
“The government action against smuggling has achieved productive results that are very encouraging for the local tyre industry,” he told The Express Tribune.
Local tyre industry representatives say the recent raids against tyre smugglers, wholesalers, retailers have caused a plunge in the number of loaded trucks that enter Pakistan from the porous borders of Afghanistan.
Recently, the Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation wing (Customs) raided shops and warehouses in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, and confiscated smuggled tyres worth millions of rupees. Custom officials usually say that shortage of staff, scarcity of funds and inadequate logistic facilities have greatly impeded the activities of their operational staff. The industry officials believe the smuggling of tyres runs in the billions and will continue to hamper the local industry’s growth and profitability if it is not curbed.
According to industry estimates, Pakistan produces around 20% of the country’s total demand, while 48% is met through imports. Thirty-two percent is smuggled into the country.
Total market demand in the year 2012-13 was 8.2 million tyres, out of which 1.65 million were produced locally, 3.94 million were imported and over 2.6 million were smuggled mainly through Afghan borders of Chaman and Landi Kotal.
Standoff with FPCCI
Meanwhile, General Tyre has reacted against the budget proposals of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) in which it wanted the government to reduce duties on imported tyres. When asked, Hussain said that if the government reduced import duty on tyres, it would be a disservice to the local industry that is already struggling and fighting the rise in smuggling.