MULTAN City News

Traders for withdrawal of gas

infrastructure development cess

From Our Correspondent

MULTAN: Traders Tuesday urged the government to create a conducive business environment in the country to compete Bangladesh, India, Thailand and China in terms of industrial products.

Talking to reporters, Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Farid Mugis Sheikh expressed his concerns over more than 2 per cent hike in gas tariff for power sector.

He said now the power sector would receive gas at Rs 613 per million British Thermal Units (MMBTU) and he called upon the government to reconsider this decision as it would further push up the cost of doing business in the country and make the country’s exports more uncompetitive in the international market.

He urged the government to supply gas to textile and value added industry at Rs 600 MMBTU and withdraw gas infrastructure development cess (GIDC).

Farid lauded the government’s move to reduce gas tariff for fertilizer plants by Rs 76.59 MMBTU as it would provide good relief to farmers and help in improving agricultural productivity. He said relief to fertilizer sector at the cost of power sector was not a wise move as increase in power tariffs would multiply problems for business and industry and put additional burden on the common man in the form of rising inflation.

He said Pakistan’s total exports during the first half of 2015-16 (July-December) witnessed a decline of 14.4 per cent to $10.322 billion against $12.058 billion in the same period of last year and further hike in power tariffs for gas-based power plants would make country’s exports more noncompetitive.

COTTON VARIETIES APPROVED: The Punjab Seed Council Tuesday approved 10 new Bt and 2 Non-Bt cotton varieties for general cultivation in Punjab.

The new Bt varieties of cotton are: FH Lalazaar, MNH-988, BH-184, VH-305, AGC-777, CEMB-33, BS-52, IUB-13, MM-58 and Leader-1and Non-Bt varieties are CYTO-124 and NIAB-2008.

Talking to The News, Punjab Agriculture Information Assistant Director Naveed Asmat Kahlun Tuesday said the approval of other 5 cotton Bt varieties has been made restrictive with the permission of National Bio Safety Commission.

He said the new varieties were approved in PSC special meeting held under Agriculture Minister Dr Farrukh Javed.