LNG to be imported from spot market to meet demand in summer, PM tells JS

DHAKA: The official news Agency of Bangladesh (BSS) has issued following news release:

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today told the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) that the process of importing LNG from spot market has already been started to meet the demand of gas for power generation during the ongoing irrigation season, upcoming holy month of Ramadan and summer.

The Leader of the House said this while responding to a tabled question from Jatiya Party lawmaker Fakhrul Imam.

She said that in 2008, the daily gas production capacity was 1,744 million cubic feet while in 2018, the production capacity increased to 2,750 million cubic feet.

"And currently the daily gas production capacity is 2,300 million cubic feet," she added.

Sheikh Hasina said that the increased demand must be met by importing LNG at a high price from the spot market to meet the increased demand of gas for power generation during the current agricultural irrigation season, Ramadan and summer as well as to keep the production uninterrupted in the industrial sector and to continue the production of captive power produced under the own management of various factories for export.

That is why the government has decided to increase the price of gas used only in electricity, industry, captive power and commercial sectors, leaving other consumer groups unchanged, she added.

She said: "The process of importing LNG from the spot market has already been adopted to meet the demand of gas in the said sectors."

In response to another question from the ruling Party lawmaker Kazim Uddin Ahmed, the Prime Minister said that the unprecedented success of increasing agricultural production and achieving food self-sufficiency in Bangladesh during the Awami League government has caught the attention of the world.

Sheikh Hasina, the chief of the ruling Awami League, said as per the election manifesto of her party, one of the goals of the government is to ensure food security and increase the export of agricultural products.

She said, "For this purpose, our government carried out fertilizer management reforms, and is providing incentives to small and marginal farmers during natural calamities and development assistance in agricultural inputs, including fertilizers."

The prime minister said that agricultural machinery is being provided with development assistance to introduce modern agricultural system in the country.

She said that agricultural loans at low interest rates, fertilisers at affordable prices, improved varieties of seeds and irrigation are being arranged to help the farmers.

"As a result, despite climate change and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the global crisis, efforts to improve agriculture and introduce modern farming systems have continued," she continued.

In response to a question from Jatiya Party's Rustam Ali Farazi, Sheikh Hasina said that the government is keeping a watch on global observations regarding the possibility of a recession in the world economy in 2023 and is taking various steps to keep Bangladesh free from the effects of a possible recession.

"Fiscal policy and monetary policy are being coordinated very carefully," she added.

The Prime Minister said that the government has taken steps to reduce unnecessary expenditure in order to continue the flow of necessary resources to the productive and social security sectors.

She said that if the flow of resources to the income generating productive sectors and purchasing power of the marginalised people under the social safety-net programmes can be kept normal, the impact of the economic recession will be mitigated to a large extent and it can be avoided.