Lahore Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the government to include construction of dams in its priorities in order to prevent destruction from floods in future. In a statement received by WealthPK, LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir said had the lessons been learnt from the disasters of the past, small dams would have been constructed in flood-prone areas which would certainly have averted destruction on such a big scale. He said that the economic losses inflicted by the deadliest floods are estimated at $40 billion. “If the government doesn’t take precautionary measures and springs into action with full force, the damages in future will be multiplied and will shatter the very basis of economy in the days to come,” he added.

The LCCI President said that the agriculture sector is the major victim of the floods, which contributes around 23% to Pakistan’s GDP. He feared that because of the vulnerability of the agriculture sector, the government will have to import agri products in general and cotton in particular with a collective worth of $4 billion to $5 billion this year. He said that the cotton crop has been destroyed to a large extent which is a major raw material of the textile industry and contributes to over 60% of Pakistan’s exports. He said that the unavailability of cotton will negatively impact the textile exports.

The LCCI president said that the devastating floods have also caused massive damage to the rice crop which contributes around $2.5 billion to the annual exports. The damage will result in loss of exports, reduction in GDP growth and higher CPI inflation.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk