LPG 12-kg cylinder priced at Tk 1,421
FE REPORT | Tuesday, 3 September 2024
The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has raised the price of 12-kg liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder by Tk 44 to Tk 1,421 for September trading.
The price of such a container was Tk 1,377 in August.
The new prices came into effect from Monday evening, according to a BERC statement.
BERC Chairman Jalal Ahmed announ-ced the new LPG prices at a press conference in BERC office at Kawran Bazar in the city on Monday.
The BERC adjusted cooking fuel prices for the domestic market based on the Saudi Aramco contract price for September 2024. It also factored in fluctuations of foreign exchange rates and changes in value-added tax (VAT).
The Saudi Aramco CP price of propane and butane is $605 and $595 per tonne respectively for September trading.
The BERC calculated an average price of $598.50 per tonne by considering a propane and butane mixture at a ratio of 35:65. The commission has been setting LPG prices for private operators within the first week of every month since April 2021.
The private sector can sell LPG in various cylinder sizes -- 5.5kg, 12.5kg, 15kg, 16kg, 18kg, 20kg, 22kg, 25kg, 30kg, 35kg and 45kg -- to consumers at proportionally higher prices in September, according to the BERC price hike statement.
The price of LPG supplied through a reticulated system or centralised storage system will be Tk 254.70 per cubic metre, including VAT, for August, compared to Tk 246.60 per cubic metre in August.
The retail price of autogas, the LPG used in vehicles, was set at Tk 65.26 per litre, including VAT, for September, compared to Tk 63.21 per litre on August.
The price of the state-owned LP Gas's LPG, however, remained unchanged at Tk 690 per 12.5-kg cylinder.
Sources said that currently around 27 LPG operators are in business, although licences were issued to about 58 companies.
Some 26 operators import about 1.10 million tonnes of LPG from the international market, which accounts for around 98 per cent of the country's total LPG demand, while seven are satellite operators.
About 35 million LPG cylinders are in use across the country's LPG businesses.
The sector employs around 200 road tankers, 5,000 trucks and 21 cargo vessels nationwide.