Petroleum products: Industry fiercely opposes oil price hike

Asks government to instead cut taxes, non-development expenses

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has warned of widespread negative implications if the government increases prices of petroleum products once again at the start of next month, saying the rates are already high and pinching the industry.

In a statement, LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid said increase in petroleum prices at a critical stage when the caretaker setup was being put in place would only add fuel to the fire and deal a blow to the industry and economy.



“No sector will be left unaffected if the government goes against ground realities and increases prices of petroleum products that are basic raw material for the industry and a must for trade and economic activities,” he said. “The government should curb non-development expenditures instead of dropping petrol bomb on the already struggling industry. The industry will not be able to contribute to economic uplift if the decision is taken against it.”



Though oil prices in the international market were on the rise, instead of passing the burden on to the masses, the government should cut taxes and duties levied on petroleum products, Javaid suggested.

Terming the agriculture sector engine of growth, the LCCI president was of the view that it would suffer too along with the industrial sector. “Increase in petroleum prices will push up input cost of agriculture as high-speed diesel is used in tractors, tube wells, harvesters, thrashers and other machinery,” he said.

LCCI Senior Vice President Khawaja Khawar Rashid and VP Zeshan Khalil pointed out that with the rise in petroleum prices, the cost of thermal power generation would surge as the government was producing a huge quantity of electricity through thermal means.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2018.

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