Govt urged to reconsider recent hike in gas tariff

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Trader bodies on Saturday urged the federal government to reconsider its decision to hike in gas tariff to address concerns of the business community.

President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari and President, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI)Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh made the demand during a meeting held here, said a news release.

They have shown concerns over the federal cabinet’s approval of a 67 percent increase in gas tariffs as it would increase production costs, reduce industrial activities, and badly hurt exports.

During a meeting, they urged the government to take solid measures and ensure competitive energy tariffs for the industry to boost industrialization and exports.
President ICCI said that the economy of Pakistan is in deep trouble as the manufacturing sector is still struggling to recover, textile sector exports declined by around 3 percent during July-January 2023-24, and foreign exchange reserves of US$ 8 billion are insufficient to cover only 6 weeks of imports.

He said Pakistan needs US$ 22 billion in external financing during 2024-25 to meet its financing needs.

To cope with these challenges, Pakistan urgently needs to boost industrialization and exports. However, the repeated hikes in electricity and gas tariffs have made the cost of doing business very high which is hurting production activities and making exports uncompetitive in the international market.

President KCCI said that the industry of Karachi was demanding a reduction in gas tariffs to improve industrial activities and the increased gas tariffs would create more problems for the industry that would slow down the economic growth of the country.

He urged that the new government in consultation with the private sector should fix the utility tariffs for the next 10 years to enable better growth of business activities and revive the economy.

Zafar Bakhtawari, former President ICCI and Secretary General UBG stressed that the government should privatize all loss-making utility companies to reduce their burden on the national exchequer and improve their performance.

Both Chambers called for political stability in the country, which is the key requirement to achieve economic stability.

They urged that the new government should give top priority to promoting ease of doing business to make Pakistan a hub of business and investment activities and enable it to emerge as a strong economy.

Both chambers agreed to work in close cooperation to address the key issues of the business community and create a conducive business environment.

Muhamad Ejaz Abbasi former President ICCI, Maqsood Tabish, Khalid Chaudhry, and others were present on the occasion. (APP)