KARACHI: President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Rehan Hanif has raised concerns over a persistent cargo backlog at the Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT), citing its impact on trade and industry. Hanif highlighted that the ongoing congestion, affecting nearly 50 percent of cargo daily, is disrupting supply chains and inflating business costs.
According to Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the primary cause of the congestion is the shortage of Customs staff, particularly for consignments marked for examination. Hanif noted that the examination process is excessively slow, with an average backlog of around 50 percent of containers each day. He pointed out the frequent rotation of staff as a factor further delaying the clearance process.
The backlog is exacerbated by over 2,000 containers under Afghan Transit Trade stranded at KICT. Hanif expressed frustration over the inefficiency of state-of-the-art container scanners, attributing the slow clearance process to inadequate training and lack of awareness about the scanners’ capabilities.
In a meeting with the Chief Collector of Customs, it was assured that containers with single items or industrial raw materials would be prioritized, but Hanif lamented that these directives are not being fully implemented. He also identified the installation of tracking devices on trucks as another bottleneck, with each installation taking four to five hours.
Hanif warned of increased pressure on KICT between February 5 and February 15, 2026, due to a surge in consignment arrivals linked to the Chinese New Year and the approaching Eid season. He called for urgent intervention from the Federal Minister for Finance, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue, and Member Customs Operations to address staffing shortages, enhance scanning technology utilization, expedite clearance processes, and streamline the tracker installation mechanism.
Hanif concluded that timely intervention is crucial to safeguarding trade and industry and stabilizing markets to protect consumers from shortages and price hikes.
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