The union government on Friday hinted that it would not allow the recently announced hike in natural gas prices to pass on in the form of increases in essential products like power and fertilizers.

Addressing a news conference in New Delhi on Friday, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that prices could be tweaked for power and fertilizer sectors.

Speaking on the topic, "Power has to be produced at an affordable price; fertilizer has to be produced at affordable prices. Those issues will be addressed."

On Thursday, the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) of the union government cleared the proposal to increase the price of natural gas from the current price range of between $3.5 and $5.73 per million metric British thermal units to $8.4 per million metric British thermal units.

However, even the increased price will be lower than what India is currently paying for imported natural gas. While the recent hike will allow domestic companies to sell natural gas at a maximum price of $8.4 per million metric British thermal units (mmBtu), imported gas costs nearly $14.17 per mmBtu.

The increased price is scheduled to take effect from April 1, 2014, for a period of five years.