Rising pressures on macroeconomic stability highlighted

Business Recorder reported that Atif Ikram Sheikh, president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), has voiced serious worry about volatile global oil prices and their strain on Pakistan's macroeconomic stability. He argued that repeated international oil shocks, together with heavy domestic levies, are weakening export competitiveness, enlarging the trade deficit and putting industrial units at risk of closure. According to him, higher prices for high-speed diesel (HSD) and furnace oil are raising the cost of inland transport, logistics, power generation and factory overheads.

The FPCCI wants a separate support mechanism for exporters, along with an immediate halt to the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) on export-oriented manufacturing. The trade body also wants a faster shift to renewable energy and lower electricity and gas tariffs, in line with regional rivals such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and India. Sheikh further urged a sharp cut in the central bank's policy rate to ease working capital costs for industry.

Small and medium enterprises, which Sheikh called central to export supply networks, were singled out as the most exposed because they have less financial capacity than large firms. Sheikh warned that these businesses face an immediate liquidity squeeze as operating costs climb, which could lead to factory closures, shift cuts and job losses without targeted support.