LPG price raised, 12kg cylinder costs Tk 1377
FE REPORT | Monday, 5 August 2024
The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Sunday raised the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by Tk 11 to Tk 1,377 for a 12-kg cylinder for August trading.
The commission raised the price of the cooking fuel by Tk 3.0 for a similar-sized LPG cylinder for July trading.
The country's private operators will have to sell a 12-kg cylinder at Tk 1,377 from Sunday evening, as per the energy regulator's decision, according to the BERC press statement.
The BERC adjusted cooking fuel prices for the domestic market based on the Saudi Aramco contract price for August 2024.
It also factored in fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and changes in value-added tax (VAT).
The Saudi Aramco CP price of propane and butane is $590 and $570 per tonne respectively for August trading.
The BERC calculated an average price of $577 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 August, according to the BERC price hike statement.
The price of LPG supplied through a reticulated system or centralised storage system will be Tk 246.60 per cubic metre, including VAT, for August, compared to Tk 244.50 per cubic metre in July.
The retail price of autogas, the LPG used in vehicles, was set at Tk 63.21 per litre, including VAT, for August.
The price of the state-owned LP Gas's LPG, however, remained unchanged at Tk 591 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.