Revision of POL prices on weekly basis: LCCI hits out at ECC decision

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has severely criticised the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) decision to revise the prices of petroleum products on weekly basis and said that it would not only double the inflation figures but would also be creating operational difficulties for the manufacturers.

LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh urged government to reject the Economic Coordination Committee decision in the larger interests of the economy that has been facing multiple challenges for the last many years.

He said that the Economic Coordination Committee must know that the profit margin in the global market ranges between 0.5 percent to 0.25 percent and if the prices of petroleum products keep on fluctuating in this highly competitive world, the Pakistani merchandise would not be able to maintain their due place. The ECC decision would also badly affect the country’s manufacturing sector as the manufacturer would not be able to calculate exact price of his goods.

The LCCI President said that such decisions diverted the concentration of the businessmen from real and core business issues in such a volatile economic scenario. He would always be busy in calculating the manufacturing cost of his products due to weekly fluctuation in fuel prices.

“It is beyond the understanding of the business community that why and at whose behest such decisions are made at a time when the country has a host of other issues to deal with. It would be wiser on the part of the Economic Coordination Committee if it spends much of its time in evolving methodologies for electricity generation other than hydle and

thermal means.” Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that the electricity shortage is the biggest of all challenges being faced by the country at the moment and all the government organs should work in this direction. He said that the electricity outages have not only curtailed the GDP growth but also jacked up the graph of unemployment to the alarming levels and would continue to the economic growth for a long time to come.

Only the province of Punjab has lost more than three percent of its GDP only because of ongoing electricity crisis while the closure of industrial units and massive layoffs has become a routine in a country that has huge resources. He urged the Economic Coordination Committee to ponder on producing biodiesel in a fashion India, Philippine and Brazil are doing. So much so India is running a train between Delhi and Mumbai on biodiesel. “One hector piece of land can produce 540-680 litres of biodiesel through plants known as Jetropha that need watering only once a year. If a decision to plant Jetropha plant is taken by the government at mass level in Cholistan Desert, it would not only be saving much needed revenue but would also be providing employment opportunities to the residents of that area, he added.