Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Wednesday slashed price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 2.69 per cent for a 12kg cylinder in April for clients of private operators.
The country's private operators are now required to sell a 12kg cylinder for Tk 1,442, down by Tk 40 from March's retail price of Tk 1,442 per 12kg cylinder.
The BERC chairman Md Nurul Amin announced the new prices of LPG at a press briefing in commission's office, which came into effect from 6:00 pm Wednesday.
The commission adjusted the cooking fuel prices for the domestic market basd on the Saudi Aramco contract price (CP) for April 2023 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 US$615 and US$620 per tonne each for April trading.
The BERC considered the propane and butane mixture at the ratio of 35:65 to get the average price at US$618.25 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 5.5 kg, 12.5kg, 15kg, 16kg, 18kg, 20kg, 22kg, 25kg, 30kg, 35 kg and 45 kg to consumers at proportionately higher prices in April, according to the BERC announcement.
The price of LPG to be supplied through a reticulated system, or centralised storage system, will be Tk 258.60 per cubic meter including VAT for April.
The retail price of autogas, the LPG being used in vehicles, also slashed to Tk 66.21 per litre including VAT for April from Tk 67.68 of March.
The price of 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 licenses 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