Temporary resilience in trying times
“At the moment we have stocks, so supply disruptions are manageable for now,” said Syed Sheharyar Ali, chief executive officer of Treet Corporation, a conglomerate that specialises in razor blade production among other ventures. “We typically maintain around three months of imported raw material inventory, which has helped us absorb the initial shock.”
Of course, not every producer, especially small and medium enterprises, can afford to maintain inventories for such a long period. That buffer, however, is temporary.
“It is only a matter of time before the impact of the war in the Gulf will start showing on businesses whose raw materials, like our steel for razors and razor blades or lithium-ion batteries, come through the Strait of Hormuz. This route is very important for our industry,” he said in an interview.
‘The closure of Hormuz is not only driving supply chain disruptions but also increasing unpredictability’
The pressure on domestic producers is already building through rising fuel prices, which are pushing up transportation and production costs across the economy. “The increase in fuel prices is a major blow, both in terms of direct and indirect impact,” Mr Ali noted. “It raises input costs by spiking transportation and freight rates, increases imported raw material prices, and impacts packaging and utility costs.”
After increasing fuel prices on March 7, the government has since held them steady to avoid political backlash, absorbing the cost through the budget. It has already paid Rs79 billion in subsidies, and the decision to keep prices unchanged this week will add nearly Rs56bn more to that burden. In an import-dependent economy like Pakistan’s, such shocks tend to cascade quickly. “We rely on imports for about half of our materials for razors and razor blades, and nearly entirely for our energy storage business,” he added.
Despite these challenges, Treet Corporation has managed to maintain a significant export footprint. The company produces around 2.1bn to 2.2bn blades annually, exporting to 30 to 35 countries. “Our blade is considered one of the best among the top three or four in the world,” Mr Ali said. However, export volumes have declined from around 50pc of production at their peak to roughly 20–30pc today, reflecting intensifying competition and shifting global demand.
He urges a shift in government priorities from chasing new investments to protecting existing businesses. Firms are shutting down, and policy should focus on sustaining them. Key reforms, he says, are well known: long-term policy stability, affordable utility costs, lower taxes and faster tax refunds to improve competitiveness. He also calls for more inclusive policymaking, proposing a broad-based panel of technocrats and business leaders to avoid siloed decisions that benefit one sector at the expense of others.
That said, Mr Ali remains cautious about the broader outlook. “You can’t clearly see where the country is headed, and people are stressed,” he said. Modest gains in the stock market or headline figures, he argued, mask a harsher reality of shrinking purchasing power and cautious consumers as inflation erodes spending. “Across all income levels, people are cutting back.”
As the Gulf crisis deepens, these pressures are likely to intensify — testing both business resilience and the coherence of economic policy.
