Electricity shortage: PCJCCI chief laments high import bill
The amount was higher than the import bill of the same period last year which was around $6.43 billion
LAHORE:
Pak-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Shah Faisal Afridi said that the power shortage has made the manufacturing sector of Pakistan dependent to generators and self-generation of electricity. This has resulted in increased cost of production. “As the import bill rises, the economy faces imbalance in trade,” added Afridi. He said according to some reports the country paid a total of $6.69 billion for the import of petroleum products and furnace oil during July-Nov 2014-15. The amount was higher than the import bill of the same period last year which was around $6.43 billion. Afridi said the government is continuously claiming addition of electricity to the national grid, but the statistics indicate that industries are still struggling.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 13th, 2015.
Pak-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Shah Faisal Afridi said that the power shortage has made the manufacturing sector of Pakistan dependent to generators and self-generation of electricity. This has resulted in increased cost of production. “As the import bill rises, the economy faces imbalance in trade,” added Afridi. He said according to some reports the country paid a total of $6.69 billion for the import of petroleum products and furnace oil during July-Nov 2014-15. The amount was higher than the import bill of the same period last year which was around $6.43 billion. Afridi said the government is continuously claiming addition of electricity to the national grid, but the statistics indicate that industries are still struggling.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 13th, 2015.