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State minister for power, energy, and mineral resources, Nasrul Hamid, has said that the government is considering a hike in petroleum prices from next month.
‘But the decision will come after discussion with all stakeholders, including transport business operators,’ he said on Friday.
He said that the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation had been incurring a loss of Tk 90 crore per day. The price of diesel and octane may be adjusted.
‘To offset this loss, we have to consider the adjustment in the fuel price. Neighbouring India has already adjusted the price,’ he added.
About the BPC’s huge profit of about Tk 50,000 crore in the last 7 years, the state minister claimed that that profit had already been adjusted with the loss.
The government last raised the price of diesel and kerosene to Tk 80 per litre from Tk 65 with effect from November 4, 2021.
Meanwhile, finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday said that a decision on raising petroleum prices would come soon.
‘You will get informed whenever the decision is made,’ he told reporters while virtually briefing on the outcomes of the two consecutive meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase on Wednesday.
He said that the government always tried to bear the load when the price of any product went up in the international market.
‘But when the cost goes up excessively, the government shares the load with the people,’ he said.
He, however, did not respond to information that the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation had made a profit of about Tk 50,000 crore since 2015.
Mustafa Kamal said that the government’s view was to cause less pain to people.
(NA)
