'Increase in POL prices' to hit trade, industry adversely'

Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Saturday strongly criticised huge increase in petroleum products, saying it would hit trade and industry hard besides jacking up the graph of inflation. "Had a little attention been given towards the construction of mega water reservoirs including Kalabagh Dam, the situation today would have been quite satisfactory because of the availability of cheaper electricity," said LCCI President, Irfan Qaiser Sheikh on Saturday.
Sheikh feared that the recent increase of five percent in the prices of petroleum products would have devastating impact on the industrial sector as cost of raw material and transportation of goods would increase manifold. He said that the export sector would also get the heat of the recent hike in petroleum prices.
He observed that the prices of petroleum products were raised on the pretext of appreciation in dollar prices. But here, again, the dollar jump against the rupee was not more than Rs 1.50 in the last two months but the raise in the prices of petroleum products was rupees four a litre, which is totally against all norms and an attempt to befool the masses.
LCCI president said that the entire industrial sector is already facing multiple internal and external challenges and the recent increase would further aggravate the economic situation. Pakistan agriculture sector is engine of growth. The increase in petroleum prices would increase the input cost of agriculture production as high-speed diesel is being used in tractors, tube-wells, harvesters, thrashers and other agriculture machinery.
He said that the cost of thermal generation by private sector would also go up. He furthered that not only the transportation cost of goods would multiply, but the fares of public transport would increase manifold, he said and added the government is producing huge amount of electricity through thermal means and after increase in petroleum prices, prices of electricity would touch new heights.