LAHORE - Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association Front (PIAF) has urged the Prime Minister to reject the proposal for hike in prices of petroleum products and electricity tariff as it would be a major blow for the crippling economy.
In a statement issued here on Friday, PIAF office-bearers including Chairman Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, Vice Chairmen Iqbal Baig Chughtai and Shahzeb Akram said that the entire industry in Punjab had suffered as a consequence of gas outages.
They said that industries relied on petroleum products to complete export orders and a further hike in petroleum prices is bound to push the crisis-hit industrial sector to the wall. It is highly unlikely that Pakistani merchandise would be able win buyers in the international market as prices would go higher compared to other countries.
PIAF office-bearers grieved that the upward trend of power price had primarily led to Pakistani merchandiser's failure to make a mark in the international market. Contrarily, neighboring countries grabbed huge gains. It is pertinent to mention that electricity rates for the industry in Bangladesh and India are 9.5 cents and nine cents respectively against a rate of 13 cents in Pakistan.
They lamented that trade and industry had suffered massive losses in 2010 due to long hours scheduled and unscheduled power outages and resultant disruptions in production processes. Participants of the meeting urged the government to declare the year 2011 as the Year of Power Generation and initiate work on mega water projects including Kalabagh Dam.
"Until and unless dependence on thermal power is curtailed, there are hardly any chances of economic revival and precious foreign exchange being spent on oil import." The PIAF Chairman also stressed on the need for bringing down the fast escalating rate of inflation that has now started to take its toll.
While calling for bringing down the rate of interest, the PIAF office-bearers said that the State Bank of Pakistan should divert its attention towards banking spread that is intolerable and taking the equity away from the reach of the business community.
They said that the rate of interest in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka stood at 11.5 percent, 12.5 percent, and 9.75 percent respectively against 17.5 percent in Pakistan.
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