LAHORE  -  The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has observed that the repeated increase in the gas and electricity prices to an un­bearable level by the interim government has left the trade and industry uncompetitive; blaming it for trapping the country in the IMF plans.

PIAF Chairman Faheemur Rehman Saigol, strongly oppos­ing gas price surge, said that the gas tariff hike has threatened the industrial sector, besides increasing unemployment, say­ing that the every government had poor economic policies that unleashed the free fall of rupee against the dollar, ensuing in in­put cost escalation to pull down the manufacturing growth.

He warned that the contin­ued escalation of gas prices could result in the closure of numerous industries, amplify­ing unemployment rates and diminishing Pakistan’s export capabilities, appealing to the government to reverse this de­cision promptly and establish a fixed gas price of Rs1,800 per mmbtu for industries.

Emphasising the need for the government to explore and provide affordable energy al­ternatives for the industry, he stressed that such measures are crucial for ensuring the competitiveness of Pakistani products in the global market. As the industrial sector grap­ples with the ramifications of the gas price hike, PIAF leader’s stance advocates for the pres­ervation of industrial stability and the prevention of potential economic setbacks for Pakistan.

The PIAF chairman con­demned the recent increase in gas tariff as approved by the Eco­nomic Coordination Committee and the caretaker government. He has demanded the govern­ment to take back the decision of hike in gas tariff in the larger interest of national economy and to save the industries from col­lapse. He warned that in case, the decision is not withdrawn, the industries will close down, resulting in decline in exports and mass unemployment.

In an appeal, he said that the business community was given assurance for 9 cents per KWh electricity tariff by the caretak­er government. The assurance brought a sigh of relief and hope for the business community that the new tariff will help in reduc­tion of production cost and they will be able to continue produc­tion unabated and deliver ex­port orders on time. However, contrary to the assurance given, POL, electricity and gas tariff are being increased constantly by the caretaker government. He said that currently, the national economy is passing through se­vere crisis. To run an industry is no more a profitable business. He questioned the caretaker prime minister as to how econ­omy of the country can be sta­bilised and strengthened in the absence of industrial and busi­ness activities? Unfortunately, the caretaker government has taken no step to provide com­petitive environment to indus­tries, lower the cost of produc­tion and reignite the engine of national economy, which has left the industrial community in de­spair, he remarked.

He vehemently rejected the recent surge in gas prices, as­serting that this decision poses a severe threat to the industrial sector, potentially leading to increased unemployment. He expressed concern over the al­ready elevated production costs in the region, rendering industri­alists less competitive compared to their counterparts in neigh­bouring countries. Showing their profound concerns, he said that the country’s exports have nose-dived comparatively by 12.71 percent from $31.78 billion in July-June 2021-22 to $27.74 billion over the same period in 2022-23, citing the harsh fac­tors, which is hurting the indus­try. This is 16.61 percent decline to the export target of $32.35 bil­lion set for the fiscal year 2022-2023, he said and added that the export-oriented industries are faced with the greatest ever challenges in terms of the high­est cost of manufacturing. Many industries, he claimed to have already stopped their produc­tion in the country with several others fearing a closure because of the unviable trade, which may also pulled the country’s exports further down. The interim rule has raised gas tariffs to the high­est ever levels by 118 percent from August 2023 and added on with a 40 percent cost of RLNG. This move overall gave a steep rise of 191 percent to the gas prices to the historic levels, he added. The exports industry is also compelled to pay the exor­bitant gas price, which is tagged with the cross subsidy that the fertiliser, feedstock, domestic consumers and power genera­tion sector enjoy, he pointed.