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Star Shipping (Pvt) Limited maintained breakbulk rice loading operations at Port Qasim during a recent nationwide transportation strike that suspended more than 400,000 goods-carrying vehicles across Pakistan, the company said, illustrating how port-side logistics operators are adapting to keep export flows moving even as inland haulage grinds to a halt.
The Karachi-based freight forwarder and port agency, which operates across all Pakistani seaports, said its teams continued to load rice in bulk at Port Qasim despite the strike, leveraging direct port access and established relationships with terminal operators to bypass the paralysis affecting road transport. The company provides vessel agency services, breakbulk handling, transshipment coordination, pre-carriage and on-carriage arrangements, and customs clearance, according to its promotional materials.
Pakistan has faced repeated nationwide transporter strikes in recent months. In August 2026, the All Pakistan Goods Transporters Alliance suspended operations of more than 400,000 vehicles to protest the government’s daily fuel price mechanism, high toll rates, and a withholding tax increase, Nisar Hussain Jafry, chairman of the alliance, told media. A separate 10-day strike in December 2025 over provincial bans on older cargo trucks stranded approximately 25,000 imported containers and 15,000 export containers at Karachi Port and Port Qasim, according to the All Pakistan Customs Agents Association.
The disruption has hit Pakistan’s rice export sector at a sensitive moment. The country exported approximately 2.9 million metric tons of rice during the first seven months of the 2025/26 marketing year, with full-year projections at 4.7 million tons, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Basmati and non-basmati varieties move through Karachi and Port Qasim to markets including the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, China, and Kazakhstan. Port Qasim, established in 1973 and now operating 18 berths with an annual capacity of 89 million tons, handles commodities ranging from coal and LNG to rice and cement.
Port Operations Versus Inland Gridlock
While port spokesmen have repeatedly stated that vessel arrivals and departures continued normally during strike periods, the bottleneck has shifted to the landside interface. Zubair Motiwala, chairman of the Businessmen Group, noted that roughly 2,000 containers normally move in and out of Karachi’s ports daily, but during the December 2025 strike, 12,000 to 14,000 containers became stuck at the terminals over a 10-day period. Export industries continued production, but finished goods could not reach the ports for shipment.
Arshad Khurshid, chairman of the All Pakistan Customs Agents Association, said approximately 87 percent of export consignments cleared through the green channel, meaning shipments moved directly to vessels once goods declarations were filed. However, the inability of trucks to deliver fresh cargo to the port meant that export volumes risked falling behind schedule, triggering demurrage, detention charges, and potential order cancellations by international buyers.
Breakbulk Resilience
Star Shipping’s focus on breakbulk cargo, which moves as individual bags or parcels rather than in standard containers, may have provided a degree of operational flexibility during the strike. The company said its proficiency in breakbulk logistics ensures secure conveyance of bulk commodities both nationally and globally. Rice, typically loaded in 50-kilogram bags for export to African and Middle Eastern markets, is a staple breakbulk commodity at Pakistani ports.
The broader rice export sector faces additional headwinds beyond domestic transport disruptions. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has created logistical challenges for shipments bound for Gulf Cooperation Council markets, while competition from Indian rice and rising freight costs have pressured margins, according to industry analysts. In response, Pakistan’s government has operationalized six new overland trade corridors through Iran to reach Central Asian markets, with milled rice designated as a primary commodity for diversion.
Exporters and industry associations have urged the government to resolve transporter grievances through negotiation, warning that prolonged strikes threaten Pakistan’s reputation as a reliable sourcing destination. The Pakistan Textile Exporters Association estimated that the textile sector alone faced potential losses of roughly $50 million per day during the December 2025 stoppage.
Star Shipping said it will continue to provide tailored bulk logistics services to ensure timely delivery, positioning itself as a dependable collaborator for port agency services throughout Pakistan’s seaports.
