PHMA slams move to raise gas prices

With a sense of grave concern, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) has expressed serious concern over the reports of surge in gas prices by the government. According to reports government has decided to increase gas prices by 5-7 per cent to cover losses with retrospective effect from 2012-13 to cover the losses of Gas companies.
"This surge will lead to further decline in exports and surely be one more nail in the coffin of exports of our nation as high cost of doing business is already hurting", said Tariq Munir, Chairman PHMA. He informed that during 2013-14 to 2016-17, exports of Pakistan have declined by 20 percent while Textile exports decreased by 10 percent. From this it is crystal clear that any increase in gas prices would further lead to decline in the exports of Pakistan which would result in decline in foreign exchange earnings and increase in the Trade Deficit leading to further imminent shifting of large number of industries abroad causing mass unemployment; worsening law and order situation and chaos, he added.
Chairman PHMA said that the Value Added Textile Exporters are already greatly burdened and crushed due to rising tariff of electricity, gas, water and other essential raw materials leading to high costs of doing business in Pakistan as compared to our competing countries.
He said that huge amount of the harassed exporters' liquidity is blocked in Sales Tax Refund Claims amounting to billions of rupees; Customs Rebate Claims of billions of rupees and Billions of rupees of DLTL and DDT Claims which are held up by the government since an abnormally long period of time.
He earnestly appealed to the Government to seriously review and withdraw the decision to raise gas prices by 5-7pc as this would crush and ruin this vitally important Textile Export Sector which earns US $ 12.45 billion (61% of total nation's exports) largest amount of foreign exchange and generates huge employment for the nation. Tariq demanded that Government should bring cost of inputs - electricity, gas, and water rates 20% lesser than rates prevailing in regional competitor countries and introduce separate tariff / heads of accounts for textile sector alike introduced for fertilizer sector to make competitive the Pakistani Exporters in the international market.-PR