The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Company Ltd (SNGPL) following the directions on Thursday from Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar restores gas supply for four hours a day basis to Punjab based textile industry, said industry sources. The SNGPL would supply 60 MMCFD LNG at the cost of $9 per MMBTU against the industry demand from both spinners and weavers asking for LNG supply at the rate of $8.5 per MMBTU.

However, the federal government was pressing the textile millers, particularly in Punjab, to purchase LNG at $10.10 per MMBTU, refuting its earlier offer of $8.5 per MMBTU. They were of the view that the government was charging a higher price against the world standard. As a result, they added, the government had revised its offer to $9 per MMBTU.

According to the industry sources, many textile millers are still objecting the rate of LNG but still a good number of them would opt for availing the opportunity of gas availability even at $9 per MMBTU to avoid further unavailability.

In the recent past, some 100 mills have reported complete closures due to which there is an overall decline of 15 percent exports in quantitative terms. The export data for the month of November reveals plunge in exports of cotton yarn and cotton fabric to 45 and 22 percent respectively.