Eid sales fall short of expectations despite better security situation

Karachi Tajir Ittehad chairman says ‘no apparent reason for low sales’

KARACHI: Contrary to expectations, All Karachi Tajir Ittehad has said that this year’s Eid sales in Karachi - the financial capital of the country - remained much lower compared to 2016 despite a satisfactory security situation in the city.

“It is shocking for us because there is no apparent reason for low sales this year,” All Karachi Tajir Ittehad Chairman Atiq Mir commented on Thursday.



Traders in Karachi were estimating much better sales this year because of which they had imported more goods.

Initial response from customers was also satisfactory as a large number of people visited leading shopping centres in the initial days of Ramazan. However, final sales figures compiled by shopkeepers indicate low Eid sales this year, according to a press release.

Traders say the subdued sales in 2017 are surprising because the security situation - one of the major reasons that affected seasonal sales in the past few years - remained reasonably stable.

Moreover, there was no significant change in inflation numbers this year that might affect purchasing power of the people.

Inflation in Pakistan remained at 4.18% in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2016-17, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Last year, average inflation hit a multi-year low at 2.8%.

Inflation in recent years has remained under control mainly due to low international prices, which have massively helped Pakistan that imports up to 75% of oil to meet its energy needs.

“We were expecting Eid sales to cross Rs50 billion,” said Mir.

Eid sales were at a multi-year high in 2015 when they touched Rs70 billion mainly due to surprising improvements in security conditions in the city.

Mir said traders were expecting a gradual increase in Eid sales in 2016 and 2017 due to improving macroeconomic indicators since 2014. However, despite improvement in economic growth rates over the last few years, Eid sales remained passive in 2016 and 2017.

Owing to security challenges, especially during the tenure of PPP-led government, Eid sales had remained subdued. Kidnapping for ransom and extortion severely hit business activities in the largest city of Pakistan.

However, since the launch of Karachi operation in September 2013, security situation improved remarkably, helping seasonal Eid sales in the following years.



Pakistan has achieved 5.3% economic growth, the highest in a decade, in fiscal year 2016-17 on the back of recovery in the agriculture sector and better-than-expected performance of the services sector. The size of Pakistan’s economy is now over $300 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2017.

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