Rising fuel prices to force brick kiln closure, warn owners

Say soaring coal prices led to increased cost of doing business

LAHORE:

Kiln owners decided to close brick kilns from 30 cities across the country due to the rise in fuel prices. Not only will this make bricks more expensive, but thousands of kiln workers will lose their jobs.

The All Pakistan Kiln Owners Association (APKOA) decided to close the kilns for four months of the year after the current yield of bricks is completed. APKOA Secretary General Meher Abdul Haq said that the kilns will be closed in July and August and thereafter in January and February.

"There are two reasons for this decision. One is to reduce our production to reduce rising costs and secondly, we will close the kilns during smog season," he said. According to the Kiln Owners Association, the price of coal has increased manifold.

Numerous letters were written to the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries, yet no hearing has taken place.

Currently, coal imported from Indonesia has reached Rs90,000 per tonne, while coal imported from Afghanistan which previously ranged Rs18,000 to Rs20,000 per tonne now costs Rs60,000 per tonne. The price of local coal was Rs12,000 to Rs15,000 per tonne but increased to Rs25,000 per tonne.

On the other hand, the current price of bricks in Lahore ranges between Rs12,000 and Rs13,000 per thousand bricks. The closure of kilns will lead to a shortage of bricks and an increase in price. Meher Abdul Haq says that shutting down the kilns will save not only fuel and soil, but also labour costs and other expenses.

He added that unemployment would be a reality due to the closures, but stated that there was no other way. To date, the government has not provided any relief to the kiln industry. Instead of giving any relief to the kiln owners, the government has put this credit in its account.

According to kiln owners, kilns in the border areas with India are struggling to obtain clay for the production of raw bricks.

Security forces deployed in the border area prohibit digging for clay. In this regard, the Kiln Owners Association dispatched a delegation to meet the Corps Commander Lahore and inform him of their problem, on which he directed them to formulate a method for making bricks.

According to these instructions, NOC will be issued for excavation and transfer of soil along the BRB canal flowing east of Lahore.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2022.