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Furnace oil price hike setback to industries: LCCI

Recorder Report

LAHORE: The Vice President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Sarmad Amin, has criticised increase in the price of heavy duty furnace oil, saying such a repeated raise would spell disaster for industry.

In a press statement on Wednesday, he said that fresh increase coupled with 15 percent GST levied in August would enhance rates of electricity and all other input costs for industries, making it hard for exporters to fulfil their international commitments. The benefit the bumper cotton crop was to accrue to the economy would also go waste, he added.

The LCCI vice president said that the irony is that in the last 7 months, the base price of HFO had gone up by 52.32 percent, and apart from this increase the government had levied 15 percent GST in August, 1999. Such repeated price increases in basic raw material like HFO would play havoc with our exports, rendering our products in the international market uncompetitive.

TThe government raised prices of HFO in May 1999 by 10.37 percent, August 15 percent, December 20 percent and now in February 2000 by 15 percent. The LCCI Vice Presient said that no industry can bear such constant fluctuations in prices of basic raw materials. He appealed to the government that the latest price hike should be withdrawn in the greater interest of the industry and the economy.