Press Release

POL price hike will jack up cost of doing business

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tuesday urged the government to withdraw recent hike in oil prices that is bound to jack up cost of doing business and inflation in Pakistan. In a statement, LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah, Senior Vice president Nasir Hameed Khan and Vice President Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry said that there is no denying the fact that oil prices were on the rise in the international market but instead of passing on this surge to masses, the government should cut the number of taxes on petroleum products as the fuel is the engine of growth.

“If the fuel will be heavily taxed the entire economy will suffer and the same happened in Pakistan as the repeated increases in the POL prices have affected the industrial and economic activities. They said that it is not the industrial sector alone but the agriculture sector will also badly suffer. “Pakistan agriculture sector is engine of growth. The increase in petroleum prices will increase the input cost of agriculture production as high speed diesel is being used in tractors, tube-wells, harvesters, thrashers and other agriculture machinery. They said that the cost of thermal generation by private sector to go up.

The LCCI office-bearers said that Government is producing huge amount of electricity through thermal means and after increase in petroleum prices, prices of electricity will touch new heights.

They said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry had for the last many years been calling on 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. The LCCI office-bearers urged the government to withdraw recent hike in POL prices immediately to safeguard the interests of the business community.