US dollar shortage hits trade

Business

CITY Pharmacy Ltd managing director Mahesh Patel said the issue of shortage of US dollars has been an ongoing issue over the years.
He agreed that previously, you could send US dollars online but last week, that option was not available over the internet and forms needed to be filled over the counter at the bank.
Patel said CPL and business houses were experiencing constant delays with uncertainty on the availability of US dollars affecting trade.
“The simple answer is that the country needs to find and get more Forex,” he told The National yesterday.
Patel said a shortage of US dollars meant constant delays in shipments, which meant lost sales and a loss of credibility with the suppliers.
Meanwhile, at Bank South Pacific, remittance of foreign currency continues to be available online using BSP internet banking for individuals who comply with exchange control requirements, which includes a tax clearance if the amount remitted in any year exceeds K500,000.
Chief executive officer Robin Fleming told The National yesterday that with businesses, trade related payments generally required supporting documentation for exchange control purposes. This meant that customers would have to submit remittance applications at a branch, which process had been in place for many years.
“The total amount of trade and capital payments that are outstanding in the market has increased over the past three months, but total foreign exchange turnover is still higher than for the same period last year,” he said.
“Time to fulfil these outstanding trade orders has increased but this has been offset to some degree by the fact that larger corporates have had some of their longer outstanding dividend orders filled over the past six months.
“The pre-Christmas period generally involves additional orders being placed in the market as businesses re-stock for festive season trading and this would also have had some impact on total orders.”