LAHORE - The gas loadshedding to the urea plants on SNGPL network continued as fertilizer sector is facing a gas cut of 90mmcfd that may result in a production loss of 90,000 tons during the peak demand in wheat sowing season. Industry sources said that with the start of winter season, gas situation in the country has further worsened, affecting the industrial output of the fertilizer sector along with the export oriented sectors like textile. It is for this reason that even with the installed capacity of urea which is sufficient to fulfil the local demand, Pakistan is importing urea. Urea production had significantly dipped in October when fertilizer plants on SNGPL network had been shut down due to gas shortages. This naturally created a gap of urea demand-supply in market where dealers and middlemen earned huge profits. Data from market shows that at the beginning of Nov 2011, urea was available in the market at around Rs1750 to Rs1840 per bag, showing a significant profit margin for dealers. But the restoration of gas supply to the plants brought prices down in open market to Rs1,550 from Rs1,800, registering a decrease of Rs250 per bag. Experts said that total demand of urea during current Rabi season is around 3 million tons, and if urea rates remained stable at this level, it will save up to Rs15 billion of farmers due to smooth gas supply. They said textile industry is also running three-day a week due to unavailability of gas. The government cut gas supply to textile to five days initially, followed by four days and now three days a week at present. The textile industry has already suffered gas disruption of 153 days during current calendar year and it is likely to reach to 180 days in case the present trend continues ahead. The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) urged the government to honour its commitment of four days a week gas supply to textile industry. Acting Chairman APTMA Seth Muhammad Akber expressed deep concerns over sudden downward revision in gas supply to textile from four days to three days a week. He said a notice has been served to APTMA suggesting frequency of gas supply from four days to three days a week adding this notice has perturbed the industry at large, putting production further under pressure and leading to massive unemployment and decline in exports. The industry has employed 15 million workforce and contributed $14 billion exports to the countrys $25 billion exports during 2010-11, he added. Meanwhile, the business community has rejected the SNGPL four-day gas closure plan and said that it would prove last nail in the coffin. Government would have to reset its priorities regarding provision of gas otherwise situation would go out of hands. He said that the rise in number of unemployed would definitely spur anti-government sentiments and this single step would throw millions of industrial workers out of jobs. It is not the industry only that would be suffering massively but the government would also be an ultimate loser on many counts. The LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that the new gas load management plan is a well-calculated and well thought-out conspiracy against the present regime. He urged the government to immediately shelve the proposed industry closure plan to avert industrial closures and resultant massive lay offs. How can the industry afford to pay all-time high mark up when there in no gas for the industry. He said that there is a global phenomenon that industry is given top priority whereas in Pakistan it comes to the least and other sectors are given priority. He also urged the government to get replaced obsolete gas geysers and heaters with latest solar geysers and heaters to ensure gas to the industry. He said that around 40 per cent of the industrial units in Punjab run on gas and gas suspension means no production by almost half of the industry and a loss of millions of rupees to the exchequer. The 'discriminatory attitude of the government was not only denting its goodwill and reputation but had also put a question mark on its ability to manage and govern things. He said that the units in Sindh were getting an almost uninterrupted supply except a two-to-three hour loadshedding. Pointing out that the gas suspension plan a death knell for export-based industry and productivity, he sought the Prime Ministers intervention and help for a regular supply of gas to the industry in Punjab. How the industry would be able to manage export orders worth millions of dollars when there is no gas? What about the thousands of daily wagers who have only one source of income? And above all, they added, how the government would convince both the local and foreign investors for investment when it is unable to manage the supply of gas to existing industrial units. They said that the decision has sent a very negative signal to the foreign buyers.