Ceramic manufacturers have urged the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) not to hike the prices of gases used for producing ceramic products in order to safeguard the local ceramic industry.
They placed this demand at a press conference organised by the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BCMEA) at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity in the capital yesterday.
“We would like to urge the BERC to not increase the gas prices so that Bangladesh’s ceramic sector can contribute to implementing the government’s vision 2041 to turn the country into a developed one,” said Sirajul Islam Mollah, president of the BCMEA.
Mollah said that so far, the local ceramic industry has 70 ceramic mills producing tableware, tiles and sanitary ware with an investment of Tk 13,500 crore while the sector is earning Tk 400 crore from annual exports.
However, he said the entrepreneurs and five lakh people of the sector have been under the threat of closure owing to increasing the gas prices.
Mollah said that the entrepreneurs are facing the problem of continuous increases in the price of gas in this gas-reliant industry. As this industry is gas-driven, there is no opportunity to use any alternative fuel. In the last 10 years, the price of gas in the industry has increased by almost 100 per cent.
He said that gas used as fuel in the ceramic industry is considered as one of the raw materials which accounts for 11 to 12 per cent of the total production cost. As the price of gas increases, so does the price of the product itself.
However, due to competition with foreign products, the price of domestic products cannot be increased randomly. As a result, the producers have to face financial loss.
In this context, the BCMEA president requested the BERC not to increase the price of gas in the gas dependent ceramic (tableware, tiles and sanitary ware) industry for the purpose of national economic progress as a partner in the implementation of the government’s Vision 2041.
Irfan Uddin, general secretary of the BCMEA, said that according to information published by various media, Titas Gas Company has made a profit of over Tk 1,500 crore in the last four years.
Even after this, he does not think that the proposal to increase the price of gas again by making a demand for loss is unreasonable.
Earlier, about the price hike, Titus authorities promised to supply uninterrupted quality gas at appropriate levels to meet demand.
However, he said the reality is that Titas authorities have so far not been able to achieve uninterrupted quality of gas by maintaining the required gas pressure and quality.
Kutub Uddin Ahmed, adviser of the BCMEA, Moinul Islam, senior vice- president, Rashed Maimunul Islam and Abdul Hakin, directors, also made presentations on the occasion.