LAHORE,  (INP): The business community Sunday expressing their grave concern said continuous spiralling electricity and oil price spike will increase inflation and reduce economic growth besides increasing cost of production.

President SAARC Chamber and Chairman United Business Group (UBG) veteran trade leader Iftikhar Ali Malik talking to a delegation of exporters led by presidential candidate for Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Dr Nouman Idris Butt criticised the gradual steep hike in electricity and oil prices said it will depress the supply of other goods because they increase the costs of producing them. He said ultimately manufacturers are tend to increase the price of goods and services due to spiralling oil prices.

He urged the government to arrest the price increasing trend of electricity and petroleum products directly casting bad impact on already fractured economic growth besides hitting the export target as Pakistan would not be able to compete globally due to increased oil price factor.

Iftikhar Ali Malik said common man is also suffering a lot because commodity prices are also automatically shoot up due to increase in the input costs. He suggested the government to freeze the prices of electricity and petroleum products, gas and power tariffs for industries especially exports related and itself bears the burden of price hike to boost the industrial production.

He said government shouldn't always bow down and must resist IMF pressure for price rise to help reduce the government’s budget deficit. He said how long the industrialists will bear the brunt of oil prices fluctuations and finally government has to rescue them. He said only judicious, prudent economic policy and good governance can help steer out the country from looming and hovering crises.