Sugar cargo delay causes port congestion

A slowdown in handling sugar imports by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has led to delay in offloading goods by other sectors at Port Qasim, inflicting huge demurrage costs.

Sources told The Express Tribune that Port Qasim had the capacity to offload 4,500 metric tons of sugar but it was not being fully utilised, which delayed the unloading of other goods. They said that the private sector had lodged a complaint against the TCP that they were compelled to pay huge demurrage charges owing to the slow offloading of sugar.

TCP officials informed a high-level meeting held on Saturday that increase in sugar imports would result in higher storage costs as demand for the sweetener stood low in the country.

Maritime Affairs Minister Muhammad Junaid Anwar pointed out that the government had already decided to shift 60% of imports to Gwadar and therefore TCP should take benefit of the opportunity. He also offered low fees if TCP utilised Gwadar Port for sugar imports.

According to a statement, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs has taken measures to streamline sugar and cement handling at Port Qasim following reports of severe congestion caused by the slow discharge of sugar consignments.

The meeting, chaired by Anwar, reviewed the situation and its impact on export activities, particularly cement and clinker shipments. The maritime minister underscored the need for enhancing operational efficiency, aligning port management with national logistics priorities and ensuring smooth coordination among stakeholders.

He stressed that all ports should enhance their operational efficiency to ensure smooth and timely discharge of consignments, noting that improvement in port operations was vital to prevent congestion, which could cause delay, raise costs and disrupt supply chain.

The meeting was informed that sugar was being unloaded at a pace slower than the port’s potential capacity. The minister directed the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) to optimise sugar unloading operations in line with its discharge capacity of around 4,000 to 4,500 tons per day.

The meeting reviewed directives from the Prime Minister’s Office, which included utilising Gwadar Port for up to 60% of sugar imports to ease the load on Karachi terminals. Participants also discussed berthing priorities and measures to prevent bottlenecks impacting the turnaround of export-bound ships.
It was agreed that all vessels at Port Qasim and Karachi Port would be berthed strictly on a first-come, first-served basis. TCP was instructed to improve its operational planning, ensure better coordination for vessel arrivals and maintain continuous communication with port authorities to avoid future congestion.
Both port authorities were tasked with enforcing the berthing policy and closely monitoring goods discharge, with penalties to be applied in cases of unnecessary delay.
The federal minister directed all relevant agencies, including TCP and other state importers, to synchronise their freight movement plans with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs ahead of cargo arrivals.
He emphasised that consistent adherence to the agreed measures and performance standards was essential to sustaining port efficiency and preventing recurrence of such logistical disruptions.