Former Chairman of Pakistan Association of Auto Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM) and former Executive Committee Member of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry Mumshad Ali on Tuesday gave a SOS call to the government to save dying tractor industry
Lahore (Pakistan Point News / Online - 07th January, 2020) Former Chairman of Pakistan Association of Auto Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM) and former Executive Committee Member of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry Mumshad Ali on Tuesday gave a SOS call to the government to save dying tractor industry.In a statement, Mumshad Ali said that tractor sales are expected to witness the lowest sales in a decade as economic downturn and poor agri income hits this industry hard.
The major tractor plants in the country are officially and effectively closed in December. Similar situation was witnessed last year also.He said that the worst hit are the 200+ sme engineering units manufacturing parts for the 2 main tractor assemblers of the country ie Millat tractors Ltd and Alghazi tractors Ltd. This sector forms the backbone of the country's engineering industry, and is located around Lahore region and its neighboring towns and cities.
The demand started to drop in august at the back of poor crop yields of cotton and rice, which were super imposed on the over all economic environment of the country and the slow down of the CPEC projects.Mumshad Ali said that these 200 vending units producing 1000s of parts for the tractor assemblers are family owned sme s employing 1000s of skilled workers operators and engineers. Over 90% of the parts that go into a tractor are locally produced and these tractors have found markets around the world.Currently all the specialized tractor part manufacturers are closed and have sent many skilled workers home with more redundancies to follow. As the tractor plants stand closed these part makers have not been paid for over 2 months now and are facing severe cash crisis. Many units are struggling to meet their bank and supplier liabilities.
