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Gas price hike in Bangladesh matter of concern for industry

23 Jan '23

1 min read

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The latest gas price hike in Bangladesh has troubled industries, which will try to shift the burden onto consumers by raising prices, and that in turn will affect their global competitiveness. Businesses have expressed concern over the hike, to be effective next month. Exports and domestic sales both will decline and foreign exchange reserves will get hit.

Sustaining will be a big problem for the industry as the price hike, said Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, president of the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries.

The domestic market of basic industries will weaken as well and unemployment will rise while banks will have to deal with defaulters, he said.

The hike will double production costs, said Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association. "The government has increased gas prices but it has not made it clear whether we will get uninterrupted gas supply," he said, adding that textile millers would now suffer more.

The government needs to address corruption and irregularities in the energy sector instead of increasing gas prices in the name of subsidy withdrawal, he was quoted as saying by a domestic media outlet.

Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, called for a more reasonable hike.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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