Business Community on Monday feared that the cost of doing business would further increase with the increase in petrol and diesel prices. They said the increase in oil prices would ultimately increase transportation charges and power tariff.
They said the step would adversely affect the living standard of lower and middle income groups, who are already facing multiple hardships. Now this increase will force them either to commit suicides or become dacoits, they added. They said the business community has no option but to pass on multiple impact of oil prices to their consumers.
Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Senior Vice President Iftikhar Ahmed Shaikh said the exporters are facing serious problems in quoting prices of their products in present scenario of ever increased prices of industrial inputs. "Business community can not carry on business in these conditions," he added.
He agreed that oil prices have gone up in international market but said the government should adopt a mechanism to increase prices after some intervals. Frequent increase in oil, gas and power tariff will adversely hit the country's exports, he added.
Iftikhar said the prices of all locally produced goods will go up considerably due to multiple impact of oil prices. Site Association of Industry (SAI) Chairman M Nisar Ahmed Shakhani said that on one hand the government has no electricity to meet its increasing demand while on the other it has increased diesel prices which will directly hit the production cost of those industries which are using diesel for captive power generation.
He said transportation cost would also increase which will ultimately increase cost of raw material, transportation cost of goods and supplies. He said the government should adopt a way to increase oil prices slowly to mitigate its immediate impact.
Shakhani said the government has made an unpopular decision of increasing the oil prices. He said industries are already facing multiple problems due to ever-increasing taxes and oil, gas and power charges. He said the government has recently imposed 10 percent tax on industrial power bills exceeding Rs 20,000 and this step will also hit all industries in general and welding and textile processing industries in particular.