Kazi Zahidul Hasan :Industry leaders on Wednesday opposed the gas distribution companies’ proposal to hike gas tariff afresh saying that such upward revision would not only leave a rippling affect on the consumers but also hit the industrial sector at large.If the hike is implemented, they said, it will boost the revenue for the state-owned gas distribution companies but the consumers and industrial sector would be the immediate victim.Titas Gas, the country’s largest gas transmission and distribution company, moved a proposal to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), seeking an average 95.09 per cent increase in natural gas price for its consumers.If the proposal is honored by the BERC, the annual revenue collection of Titas Gas will go up to Tk 21,379.89 crore from the existing Tk 10,959.12 crore.Titas Gas accounts for 62 per cent market share with about 1.9 million customers mostly in Dhaka and Mymensingh regions.The other gas distribution companies also submitted similar proposals to the energy regulator which announced to hold public hearing on their proposals on August 7-18. The gas distribution companies have submitted their tariff hike proposals on March 30 this year.Terming the gas distribution companies move as ‘illogical’, Abdus Salam Murshedy, President of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) told The New Nation on Wednesday that if the proposed hike is implemented, the cost of production would rise significantly leading the country’s export-oriented industries to further hardship.”When the export sector is passing through a critical time due to economic downtrend in western markers coupled with various internal factors, the proposed hike in gas prices is being seen as another jolt to it,” he added.He opined that the industries would bear the brunt of this hike and it would erode their competitiveness and profitability too.Abdus Salam Murshedy requests the government to immediately roll-back the decision and not to raise gas prices at this moment for the greater interest of the consumers and economy. “A fresh hike in gas price will adversely affect the country’s overall business and erode competitiveness of local merchandises in the international market,” Syed Nasim Manzur, President of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) told The New Nation yesterday. Opposing the gas distribution companies’ move, he said, if the proposed hike in gas prices comes into effect, it will push up the cost of industrial production, transportation, raw material and all necessity products. ‘It will later leave a knock-on effect on the overall economy and accelerate inflation,” he added.The MCCI leader said that the gas distribution companies are seeking a steep tariff hike for natural gas when their supply is yet to reach the optimum level. “There is acute supply shortage of gas and many industrial units are sitting idle due to lack of gas connections. In such a situation, proposals to hike gas price afresh is inconsistent and illogical,” he said.When asked, Nasim Manzur said, “We know that the country’s gas reserve is depleting fast. So, we need to ensure the best use of the natural resources. “The best use of gas is not possible by only increasing its price. Issues like tampering of meters and illegal connections should also be addressed for the proper use of gas. If the government could address these issues properly, it may not go for raising the price time and again,” he suggested.The government has raised the gas tariff by 26.29 percent in September last year.The planned gas tariff hike by the distribution companies has also disappointed the country’s textile and garments entrepreneurs who said that this will add further woes to their sectors which have fallen into the risk lose export market share after the terror attacks in Dhaka and Sholakia. “If the gas price hike proposal is implemented, many textile mills will be faced closure taking a heat from high cost of doing business,” Fazlul Haque, Vice-President of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) told The New Nation.Expressing deep concern over the move of gas price hike, he said, it will significantly raise the input cost of the industries, creating further burden to the textile entrepreneurs. “Our industries are already bearing the burnt high cost of production resulted from the repeated hike of power and gas tariffs. A further hike in gas tariff will only raise the revenues of the gas companies at the cost of mounting pains of the industries,” he noted.Fazlul Haque, however, urged the government not to increase gas price right this moment considering the challenges and difficulties faced the textile sector. “The hike, if implemented, would adversely affect the cost of doing business, export competitiveness and industrial production,” Ferdous Parvez Bivon, Vice-President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) told The New Nation on Wednesday.He added: “A rise in cost of production and eroding export competitiveness would put the country’s largest export sector (RMG) further risk of losing global market share when the global buyers fear to visit Bangladesh after the Dhaka terror attack”.Bivon apprehends that a rise in cost of production could drive away the global buyers to other sourcing countries from Bangladesh, posing a potential risk to the country’s apparel industry. “The gas price hike may also push up transport cost, the cost of electricity production and the price of essential commodities, hitting the purchasing power of common man. So, the government should refrain from hiking gas prices afresh for the sake of the national economy,” he added.
