ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: The Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) has urged the government to restore supply of gas with adequate pressure to the ghee manufacturing units to avert any shortage of the commodity in the market.

In a statement, the PVMA chairman said that due to severe cold weather pressure of natural gas supplied to the industries, especially in the Punjab, Sindh and NWFP, has reduced significantly.

Most of the units have also been affected due to discontinuation and load-shedding of gas supplies, he added. He said that the government and the authorities concerned have been assuring continuous gas supply to the vanaspati ghee, cooking oil industry to avoid any shortage of the commodity.

Even in peak shortage period, a minimum gas supply to run the gas cracking plants of the ghee industry has been continuously supplied so that ghee production is not totally halted.However, the gas authorities have recently totally suspended supplies to most of the ghee manufacturing units throughout the country.

The total discontinuation of gas supply to ghee industry would result in the less production and eventually shortage of vegetable ghee in the market, he said.—APP