The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Monday slashed further the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) price by 2.15 per cent for a 12-kg cylinder for June, selling off the cooking fuel to clients of private operators.
The country's private operators will have to sell a 12-kg cylinder at Tk 1,363, down by Tk 30 from May's retail price of Tk 1,393.
Last month, the BERC slashed the LPG price by 3.39 per cent for a 12-kg cylinder, which is mostly used in households for cooking, for May selling compared to April.
At a press briefing, BERC chairman Md Nurul Amin announced the new LPG rate, which came into effect from 6:00pm on Monday.
The BERC adjusted the cooking fuel prices for the domestic market considering the Saudi Aramco contract price for June 2024 as the benchmark. It also considered fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and changes in the value-added tax (VAT).
The Saudi Aramco CP price of propane and butane is $580 and $565 per tonne each for May trading.
The BERC considered the propane and butane mixture at the ratio of 35:65 to get the average price at $570.25 per tonne.
The BERC has been fixing the LPG prices for private operators within the first week of every month since April 2021.
The 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 in June, according to the BERC announcement.
The price of LPG, which will be supplied through a reticulated system or centralised storage system, will be Tk 243.80 per cubic metre, including VAT for June.
The retail price of autogas, the LPG being used in vehicles, has also been slashed to Tk 62.953 per litre, including VAT, for June from Tk 63.92 of May.
The price of the state-owned LP Gas's LPG, however, kept unchanged at Tk 591 per 12.5 kg cylinder.
Sources said currently some 27 LPG operators are doing business although some 58 received licences to carry out the business. Some 26 operators import around 1.10 million tonnes of LPG from the international market, which is around 98 per cent of the country's total requirement for LPG, while seven are satellite operators.
Some 35 million LPG cylinders are being used in the LPG businesses in the country.
Around 200 road tankers, 5,000 trucks and 21 cargoes are involved in the LPG businesses across the country.
Azizjst@yahoo.com