Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) price rises again by 10.63 per cent to Tk 1439 per 12-kilogram cylinder, says a government announcement made Sunday.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) readjusted the retail prices of the gas marketed by private traders for April trading.
The price of 12kg cooking fuel now stands at Tk 1439 in a rise from Tk 1,391 of March, BERC chairman Md Abdul Jalil said while announcing the new tariffs virtually Thursday.
The commission adjusted the LPG prices considering the Saudi Aramco contract price (CP) of April 2022 as the benchmark for fixing LPG prices on the domestic market.
It also considers fluctuations of foreign currency and change in the value-added tax (VAT) amount in fixing the domestic LPG prices.
The Saudi Aramco CP price of propane is US$940 per tonne and butane $960 per tonne for April trading.
In the pricing arithmetic the BERC has considered the propane and butane mixture at the ratio of 35:65 to get the average price at $$953 per tonne.
Uptrend in global oil prices due to the current war between Russia and Ukraine in the world's fuel hub racked up the Saudi Aramco CP prices of propane and butane from March's US$895 per tonne and $920 per tonne respectively.
The BERC fixes the LPG prices for private operators within the first week of every month in keeping with the global price indices.
"The new prices will have immediate effect from April 3, 2022," says the BERC chairman.
Private sector will be able to sell LPG through different sizes of cylinders like 5.5kg, 12.5kg, 15kg, 16kg, 18kg, 20kg, 22kg, 25kg, 30kg, 35kg, and 45kg to consumers at proportionately higher prices.
Price for LPG to be supplied through reticulated system, or centralized storage system, will be Tk 116.70 per kg, inclusive of VAT.
Retail price of auto gas-the LPG used in vehicles-for April also has been raised to Tk 67.02 per litre including VAT compared to Tk 64.78 per litre of March.
The price of state-owned LP Gas's LPG has been kept unchanged at Tk 591 for 12.5 kg LPG.
Currently, 27 LPG operators are doing business although some 58 received trade licence.
A total of 20 operators import around 1.10 million tonnes of LPG from the international market, accounting for around 98 per cent of the country's total requirement of this gas, while seven are satellite operators.
There are 20 LPG terminals across the country and the reserve capacity is around 100,000 tonnes in total.
Some 35 million LPG cylinders are being used in this business in the country. Some 200 road tankers, 5,000 trucks and 21 cargoes are involved with the LPG-transportation business across the country.
Azizjst@yahoo.com