Stocks stuck, Taliban rule leaves local bizmen jittery

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 18

Local manufacturers, who till recently saw Afghanistan as a secure country in regards to payments, are now perturbed as stocks worth about Rs 300-400 crore are stuck with them while the country is being taken over by Taliban.

Hosiery manufacturers supplying shawls, sweaters, jackets etc to Afghanistan maintained that the stock being exported to the country cannot be sent or used elsewhere and most of the buyers there were not responding to calls.

Talking to The Tribune, Rajiv Chopra from Chopra Knitwear here said he had huge stocks ready to be sent to Afghanistan.

“But it is all stuck now. We are worried as we had never thought of this situation and business with Afghanistan had never been troublesome in the past eight years. The payments were all secured and timely,” Chopra said.

“There is no response from our buyers there. The phone calls remain unanswered. Maybe there is scare and panic in the country. Some of my payment is still stuck there and I am not hopeful of getting it back in the near future,” he maintained.

On being asked if the stock prepared for Afghanistan could be used elsewhere, the local manufacturer refused. “These are different pieces, huge and long, and the material is also very light in weight. We cannot use it in some other market. To the best of my knowledge, material worth about Rs 300-400 crore of Ludhiana manufacturers is now stuck”.

Another manufacturer, Vinod Thapar, who regularly sends woollens and shawls to Afghanistan, feels that everything has come to a standstill for the time being. “Though I have spoken to my buyers there and they have assured that business ties will remain unchanged, but till the time everything is clear, we will be worried. My payment is also stuck there. Afghanistan always released regular payments and we hope that business will be same as it was earlier,” Thapar added.

The manufacturers are keeping their fingers crossed and are hoping that at least stocks should be cleared and they should get the payments. As far as continuing business in the future is concerned, it would be decided accordingly, they stated.