HYDERABAD, Nov 5: Expressing concern over inordinate increases in prices of diesel, petrol and other allied items, the Sindh Abadgar Board has demanded that prices of oil should be reduced by 43 per cent in accordance with the rates prevailing in the international market.

At a meeting held on Saturday, the working committee of the board noted that during the last seven years the prices of oil had been increased by between 250 per cent and 400 per cent.

As a result, agricultural and industrial sectors, the backbone of country's economy, had suffered a great setback and the deficit in the balance of trade could increase upto 15 billion dollars.

Abdul Majeed Nizamani presided over the meeting.

Quoting statistics from the report of “Network for Consumer Protection”, the meeting said that the government was earning 43 per cent profit due to increase in the prices of oil while six per cent profit went to oil companies.

It said that the PIA had been rendered bankrupt due to wrong policies of the government and its liabilities had exceeded its assets by Rs22 billion.

The meeting said that the auditor-general’s report had revealed that during the last few years, the government had unjustifiably earned Rs255 billion from oil.

The meeting appealed to the government to reduce the prices of oil by 43 per cent to bring them at par with the prices of international market to save the country's economy.

It demanded that an inquiry should be held against the OGRA as to why the benefit of reduced prices of oil in the international market from 78 dollars per barrel to 60 dollars per barrel was not passed on to the consumers.

It demanded that illegal recovery of 43 per cent from productive sectors during the last seven years should be spent on poverty alleviation and the recommendations of OGRA to reduce the prices of gas should be accepted and stakeholders should be included in the OGRA.It said that the sugar mills had never implemented the notifications of the government with regard to commencement of the crushing season and the blame had always been passed on to the farmers.

It demanded that a full-fledged inquiry should be held as to why the sugar mills had defied the government orders for starting crushing season on time during the last five years.

It said that the Sindh government had issued a notification to start the crushing season on October 1, but many a sugar mill had summoned the staff for November 10.

It said that the sincerity of cane growers could be gauged from the fact that the growers of Tando Allahyar district were supplying cane to the Laar Sugar Mills in Thatta district.

The meeting regretted that the crop zoning system in Sindh was being openly violated and the agriculture sector had received a setback due to the cultivation of high-delta crops like rice in the cotton zone.

It said that head-reach areas of water channels had become waterlogged and tail-end areas had been rendered barren due to the cultivation of paddy in the cotton belt.

It demanded that the cultivation of rice should be totally banned in the perennial areas and drains should be constructed in the districts where they were non existent. In a resolution, the meeting demanded that the import of commodities should be effected only once in bulk, keeping in view the demand and supply in the country and the availability of stock.

It said that only quality goods of the international standard should be imported and an inquiry should be held into the import of substandard and rotten onion from India.

It demanded that the illegal import of agricultural commodities and other goods from Iran and Afghanistan should be checked at all costs.