State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit has said the government had no option but to increase fuel prices amid rising international market costs and the ongoing Middle East crisis.
He, however, expressed regret over the difficulties people would face due to the price increase, saying the government would take measures to minimise its impact.
Speaking to journalists after the fuel price adjustment, the state minister said the worsening situation in the Middle East had forced the government to take the decision.
“Fuel prices are continuing to rise due to the Middle East situation. As the crisis is taking a new turn every day, with insurance premiums and shipping costs increasing, the government elected by the people had no alternative but to adjust fuel prices at this moment,” he said.
Amit said taking such a decision was extremely difficult.
“I entered politics with the intention of easing people’s hardships. As a political worker, I understand the difficulties people will face. Therefore, I sincerely apologise to the people,” he said.
The state minister said Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) had suffered losses of more than Tk22,000 crore by providing subsidies.
“According to international market prices, the cost of diesel is Tk205 per litre. Even after the price increase, the government will still have to provide a subsidy of Tk70 per litre,” he said.
He said continuing such subsidies would make it difficult for the government to maintain ongoing support and allowance programmes.
Amit said fuel prices in Bangladesh had remained lower than in neighbouring countries, creating a risk of smuggling.
“The government will try to minimise the impact of this adjustment as much as possible,” he said, adding that bus fares would be monitored to ensure any increase remained reasonable.
The state minister expressed hope that the ongoing crisis would ease soon and said the government would review fuel prices again once the situation returned to normal, with efforts to bring them back to previous levels or even lower.
