MULTAN: Multan Chamber of Commerce termed the recent increase in the gas tariff damaging for the growth of industry and would promote further unemployment in the country.
Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Main Iqbal Hussain said the recent increase in the gas tariff is not acceptable at any cost and we will stop the payments of gas bills in case if the government failed to reversed from their decision of hike in gas tariff .
Former President of Chamber of Commerce Dera Ghazi Khan and Manufacturing Association of bed sheets and holster Khawaja Jalal Ud Din Roomi said that increase in gas tariff will badly affect the national exports as it will raise the manufacturing cost and productions. It will also create issues for the exporters to compete with their competitors in the International market due to sudden upsurge in the charges of gas. He told that export production order would also disturb due to this government decision.
He told that due to increase in the prices of gas will increase the unemployment would also go up as a large number of industrial units would be left with no other option but to close down their operations because we will not afford the high production prices. How the industrial sector would be able to manage export orders worth millions of dollars when the prices of gas are touching the sky.
President Mian Iqbal Hussain asked the government how would convince the local and foreign investors for investment in the country when most of the upcountry industrial sector is unable to manage for industrial activities due to high cost of gas
Former President MCCI Khawaja Muhammad Usman told that Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has issued a notification in which the prices for domestic consumers have increased up to 3.8%, for commercial consumers 9.9%, while for the industry this increase is 23%. This clearly indicates that the industry is not a priority for the government and it is actually paving way for its spontaneous death,” Khawaja Usman said
He thought that Pakistani products, due to high cost of production, are uncompetitive when compared to regional countries. “Even in our domestic market, we are unable to complete with India and China,” he said.
Business Community MCCI unanimously passed a resolution in which they demanded from government of Pakistan to withdraw the increase in gas tariff otherwise we will stage protest in the country.
