Daily Times

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Thursday urged the government to restore the industrial power tariff for the cold storage industry to save it from further trouble.

A delegation of cold storage owners led by Anjuman-e-Wholesale Fruit Commission Agents President Babu Muhammad Aleem and General Secretary Tahar Ayub visited Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).

They highlighted the issues being faced by the cold storage industry, said a press release issued here today.

Addressing the delegation, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, ICCI said that the cold storage industry was paying electricity bills under the industrial tariff, but the government has imposed a commercial tariff on this industry due to which the amount of their electricity bills has increased manifold giving rise to their cost of doing business.

This industry is facing great problems, he said adding that due to the increase in the business cost of the cold storage industry, there is an unnecessary increase in the prices of vegetables and fruits. He urged the government to restore the industrial tariff for this sector to save the people from high inflation.

He assured the delegation that ICCI would cooperate with them in efforts to solve their problems.

Speaking on the occasion, Babu Muhammad Aleem, President and General Secretary Tahar Ayub of Anjuman Wholesale Fruit Commission Agents said that the wholesale vegetable and fruit market of Islamabad is meeting the needs of this region as well as supplying fruits and vegetables to Kashmir and North areas besides promoting exports.

They emphasized that CDA to take steps to solve the issues faced by their market to facilitate better growth of its business activities. President ICCI Ahsan Bakhtawari, appointed Arslan Javed as the convener of the Cold Storage Committee and issued him a formal letter to this effect.