The President of Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Muhammad Ishaq Butt, has urged the government to take revolutionary steps for bringing out the industrial sector from multifarious problems caused by increase of petroleum produts and electricity prices and low gas pressure.
"The role of industrial sector cannot be ignored because it has always played an instrumental role in strengthening the national economy of the country," he said while talking to reporters here on Wednesday. He said that the decision of increasing the prices of petroleum, electricity and low pressure of natural gas would destroy the industrial sector of the country.
"The increase will create negative impact on industrial sector because production cost had already been increased to manifold and the increase in electricity tariff, petroleum and low gas pressure would be the last nail for the already weak economy because the productivity has already been at its lowest ebb in this export-oriented city and hub of cottage industry of the country," he said.
He pointed out that the cost of production had increased, due to which the business community was unable to compete with their competitors like India, China and Bangladesh in international market. Butt urged the government to withdraw the decision of increase in petroleum, electricity tariff immediately for the survival of industrial sector and larger national interest.
The SCCI president said that if the situation remained the same, then Pakistan would lose international market which would be a serious economic setback for the country, which would generate multifarious problems for the country.