Ceramic manufacturers on Monday pleaded with the government not to increase the price of fuel gas again.
They feared that if gas prices increased further, the production cost of making ceramics would shoot up by 18%-20% and the sector would greatly suffer.
With this kind of price hike, they are finding it impossible to compete against other ceramic manufacturing countries, who comparatively do not face such setbacks, they said.
Shirajul Islam Mollah, president of the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BCMEA), made the comments during a press conference at Dhaka Reporters' Unity (DRU) on the day.
In 2019, the average production cost of ceramic products per kg increased by 10% to 12% as a result of about 38% increase in gas prices in the industrial sector, he further said.
Citing recent data released by various media outlets, the BCMEA president also said that this is the eighth time in the last 10 years that the government has planned to increase gas prices by an average of 116%.
“The ceramic industry is a driven process industry and dependence on gas is a major problem in this industry, no thanks to its rising prices. As this industry is gas powered, there is no opportunity to use any alternative fuel,” he added.
“The entrepreneurs of this sector, the investing financial institutions, and Bangladesh as a whole, will suffer immensely due to the inability of domestic products to compete with foreign products in the price competition,” Mollah warned.
He also said that the six gas distribution companies of the country have applied to the government to increase the price of gas.
If they increase prices again, the local ceramic industry will fall into a crisis. This would contradict the government's industry-friendly policy, he added.
Irfan Uddin, general secretary of the BCMEA said that according to the information published in media, Titas Gas Company has made a profit of more than Tk1,500 crore in the last four years.
“I think that the proposal to increase the price of gas again is an unreasonable decision. In the past, Titas authorities promised to supply uninterrupted quality gas at appropriate levels but the reality is that so far, they have been unable to deliver on their promise,” he added.
The BCMEA leaders demanded the intervention of the prime minister to save the industry to prevent the new rise in gas prices.
BCMEA advisor Kutubuddin Ahmed, senior vice-president Moynul Islam, directors Rasheed Mymunul Islam and Abdul Hakim were also present at the press conference.
