"We did not want the hike to this extent," BTMA President of Mohammad Ali Khokon, who spearheaded the businessmen's call to raise gas tariffs for increased gas supply, told the FE in an immediate reaction.
To facilitate LNG import by the government, the millers were ready for a gas-price spike by around 56 per cent to Tk 25 per cubic meter from Tk 16 per cubic meter, Khokon said.
"Our condition was also that the government would ensure uninterrupted natural gas supplies to industries in return," he added.
"But the hike is too much and it will increase manufacturing costs and reduce competitiveness of our industrial output in the global market," he feared.
"Maintaining competitiveness of our industrial products in the global market and getting sufficient quantity of natural gas will be the major challenges," said the BTMA leader.