Sept 08, 2010 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's ceramics and glass manufacturers plan to lobby against a sudden increase in excise duty on liquid petroleum gas which has raised production costs.
The Sri Lanka Ceramics Council chairman Dayasiri Warnakulasooriya said the increase in LPG price comes at a time when exporters are grappling with loss of duty free market access to Europe and a stronger rupee.
"The Ceramics Council met today and decided to to write to the government Treasury asking for the repeal of the excise duty."
The government has imposed a new excise duty of 13.12 rupees a kilo on gas from September 1.
Industry officials said the hike will increase costs of tableware exporters by almost a million rupees a month as well as hurt tile and glass manufacturers, the biggest industrial users of LPG.
Warnakulasooriya said LPG suppliers have already raised prices and that costs could go up even further if petroleum prices go up in the winter months as they usually do.
"If so, we will be badly affected," he told LBO.
Exporters have already lost the benefit of duty free access to Europe when the European Union decided not to extend the GSP Plus trade deal from mid-August, citing allegations of human rights abuses in the country.
Warnakulasooriya said the strengthening of the rupee was also hurting exporters.
"The rupee has got stronger, which is good for the country but not good for exporters as we're experiencing an exchange loss.'
source - www.lbo.lk
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