Hiking power and gas tariffs at the moment will be suicidal, said Md Jashim Uddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI). He made the remarks at a press conference held at the Federation Bhaban in capital's Motijheel on Saturday.
The FBCCI president said, "A rise in power and energy tariffs would create a negative reaction by inciting multidimensional inflation, which would stall the lives and livelihoods of the general people and would seriously impede the ongoing flow of development."
The FBCCI noted that the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war raised the price of raw materials in international market, and businesses have to pay extra cost for shipping and transportation. Besides, the cost of doing business is already high in the country and thus, it is becoming difficult to remain competitive for the export-oriented sector. The FBCCI chief said as the economic impact is not properly considered in the price hike proposal, so, it should not be taken into consideration according to the BERC law.
"The Current world situation hits the oil market and based on this temporary trend, government should not increase the price of the power, rather, mitigate the challenge with Energy Fund", he suggested.