Continuous gas price hike a threat to ceramic industry: BCMEA

Expressing their plight over the incessant gas price hikes, ceramic industry entrepreneurs have urged the government not to further increase the price for the industry.

The call was made at a seminar organised by the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BCMEA) at a hotel in the capital on Saturday.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi attended the seminar as chief guest, while Shirajul Islam Mollah, president of BCMEA, presided over it.

Mollah said the ceramic sector is a flourishing industry in the country with significant potential for export. “However, the gas-dependent industry is facing the problem of continuous increase in the price of gas.”

Gas used as fuel in the ceramic industry is considered one of the “raw materials” in the industry, which accounts for 11 to 12 percent of the total production cost of the product, he said informing the price of gas has increased by almost 100 percent in the last 10 years.

Against the backdrop, Mollah said the local ceramic industry is finding it hard to compete with imported ceramic goods due to this continuous gas price hike, he said.

“With the hike in gas price, the price of the products also goes up. But due to price competition with foreign products, the prices of domestic ceramic products can’t be increased arbitrarily,” he explained.

He requested the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) not to increase the price of gas-based ceramics (tableware, tiles and sanitary ware) in order to achieve national economic progress as a partner in the implementation of the government’s Vision 2041.

“With the tireless efforts of entrepreneurs, overcoming many adversities, 70 ceramics (tableware, tiles and sanitary ware) factories have already been established in the country,” he said.

The total foreign investment in this industry is about Tk 13,500 crore and the foreign currency earnings from the export sector is around Tk 400 crore annually, he informed adding that the lives and livelihoods of about 5 lakh people are directly and indirectly involved in this industry.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said the government would take all necessary steps to protect the domestic ceramic industry and develop it in a competitive global market.

Citing various media reports, other speakers at the seminar said Titas Gas Company has made a profit of more than Tk 1,500 crore in the last four years.

Even after this, they said the proposal to increase the price of gas again is unreasonable.

In the past, during the price hike, Titas authorities promised to supply uninterrupted and quality gas at appropriate levels to meet demand, which they (Titas authorities) have so far not been able to achieve.

Dulal Krishna Saha, executive chairman, National Skills Development Authority (NSDA); Md Jashim Uddin, president, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI); AHM Ahsan, vice-chairman Export Promotion Bureau Bangladesh (EPB); Md Mamunur Rashid, president, Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB); Afzal Hossain, chairman, Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC); Irfan Uddin, general secretary, BCMEA; and Moynul Islam, senior vice president, BCMEA spoke in the seminar.