Massive surge in POL, CNG prices jolts trade, industry: ICCI

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Saturday strongly criticized the massive surge in the POL product and CNG prices. Rejecting another unjust increase in the petroleum and CNG prices, Yassar Sakhi Butt, President ICCI said that massive increase in POL and CNG prices would have a crushing impact on poor masses and shatter all segments of society.
The President ICCI was of the view that over the past four years, petrol prices in the country have gone up by 51 percent as oppose to an increase of 15 percent in the international market followed by CNG price which has alarmingly increased by almost 110 percent to Rs88.70 per kg from Rs31 per kg in 2008.
He expressed deep concern upon sluggish production activities in the industrial units due to power load shedding and said that the recent increase in petroleum products prices would give a big blow to the industry and have devastating impact on other sectors as well.
Yassar Sakhi Butt said that due to inappropriate and badly chosen policies of the Government the prices of essential commodities are going higher day by day. In such a critical situation, the announced increase in prices on POL products would jack up the graph of inflation further high and hit the common man hard as our citizens were already burdened with bleak economic conditions, he added. Commenting upon the international oil prices, the ICCI president said that there has not been much of an increase in the international price of oil since 2008. On contrary, Government was continued to give excuse of international oil price hike to justify high power prices being charged domestically, he opinioned. He said that Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and industry for the last many months had been calling the concerned government circles to take measures for the promotion of alternate fuels as trade deficit was fast widening due to heavy imports under the head of petroleum products.