LPG segment demands targeted policy

Says domestic industry is on verge of devastation

LAHORE:

Stakeholders from the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector have urged the government to announce a salvage plan in a bid to rescue the domestic LPG industry that is on the verge of collapse.

While chairing an urgent meeting on Saturday, Pakistan LPG Marketers Association (PLPGMA) Chairman Farooq Iftikhar requested the government to devise a balanced industrial policy in order to resolve the ongoing crisis.

“Inconsistent policies regarding the pricing of local and imported LPG is placing the domestic industry in a quagmire,” he said. “Despite the fact that the country is facing huge trade deficit, no efforts to control imports or enhance local production are visible.”

As a matter of fact, imported fuel was being prioritised and local LPG industry was being ignored, he criticised.

Citing that the importance of LPG could not be ignored, Iftikhar admitted that the offshore fuel played a vital role in bridging the gap between local demand and supply of LPG.

However, rationalisation of taxes between local and imported LPG was imperative to create a level playing field for domestic companies, he said.

The chairman also voiced concerns over the disparity in the tariff applicable on LPG imported through land and sea routes.

He was of the view that shipment through one passage should not be preferred over the other.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2022.

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