Gas price hike will leave a negative impact on businesses as such a move will raise the cost of doing business, a leading chamber said yesterday. The cost of transportation, production and electricity as well as overall food prices will increase with the gas price hike, said the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in a statement. The unplanned gas price hike will also negatively impact productivity and export of garment products, which will erode the country’s competitiveness in the global apparel market.Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) increased gas prices by 26.29 percent in September last year, and any further hike within one year goes against the laws of the commission, the chamber said. According to a proposal of state-owned Titas Gas Transmission & Distribution Company Ltd, the price of gas for household use should be raised 140 percent to Tk 16.8 per cubic metre. MCCI also suggested the government should increase the use of alternative energy to reduce dependence on natural gas. It is not possible to deal with the challenges of a gas crisis only by increasing gas prices, the chamber said. The crisis can be eased to some extent by fixing the problems by introducing a metre-based billing system, stopping illegal gas connections and reducing illegal gas bills, the chamber added. “The MCCI thinks the price hike is irrelevant and illogical.” Meanwhile, leaders of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) also opposed the proposal of gas price hike, saying the textiles sector has been going through a rough patch due to volatile cotton prices, the Gulshan terror attack and higher cost of production. The proposed 130 percent hike in gas prices for captive power plants will increase the cost of production, they said. The BTMA leaders expressed concern over the proposed gas price hike at a meeting with Mirza Azam, state minister for textiles and jute, at his secretariat in Dhaka on Sunday. The proposed hike in gas prices for captive power plants, which the spinners use to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity, will badly hurt the sector, said Fazlul Haque, vice president of BTMA. The hike will take the price of gas to Tk 19.26 per cubic metre from Tk 8.36 now. The government had already raised the price of gas for captive power plants as recently as September last year from Tk 4.36 per cubic metre to the current rate. The sector has also been facing a downward price pressure of yarn and fabrics, volatile cotton markets and the negative impact of the Gulshan terror attack on the garment sector, he said. Recently, the Indian government announced a package worth $900 million for employment generation and promotion of export in the textile and apparel sector, he said. The package has been launched to improve labour working conditions, give a 25 percent investment subsidy and an income tax waiver to garment makers, he added. India has disbursed $3.5 billion in funds for factory upgrades between 2000 and 2014.
