Govt lowers LPG price for May
The retail price of one kilogram LPG, which was Tk81.30 in April, will come down to Tk75.49 in May
The government has reduced the price of private companies' 12kg liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders by Tk69 in the local market, adjusting it to the global price.
From 1 May, the price of 12kg LPG cylinders provided by the private sector will be Tk906 in the local market instead of Tk975, said an order issued by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Thursday.
As a result, the retail price of one kilogram LPG, which was Tk81.30 in April, will come down to Tk75.49 in May. This will be applicable to LPG cylinders of all sizes.
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However, the price of the 12.5kg LPG cylinder provided by the state-owned LP Gas Ltd has remained unchanged at Tk591, as there was no change in production cost and raw material cost.
Meanwhile, the price of LPG used in cars will decrease from Tk47.92 per litre to Tk44.70.
The price has been changed based on the Saudi Aramco's contract price (CP) of propane and butane, the raw material of the LPG, for the month of April, said BERC Chairman Md Abdul Jalil at an online press conference.
He said the price of propane and butane – $540.50 per tonne – was considered in revising the LPG price for the month of May.
Earlier, on 12 April, the commission issued an order to fix the price of LPG at the retail level for the first time, following a directive of the High Court. The directive came after a writ petition filed by the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), which pleaded the court to take initiative to ensure consumer rights by fixing a unified price for all the LPG operators.
However, the LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh (LOAB) has been denying to accept the pricing order, claiming that all financial facts were not addressed in the order.
Therefore, they did not implement the BERC's order at the retail level, and kept selling the product at the previous price.
Replying to a question regarding implementation of the pricing order, BERC Chairman Md Abdul Jalil said, "It is true that the order has not been implemented hundred percent. At the same time we also cannot say that the order was not implemented at all."
Since the sector's inception, the price of LPG has been fixed by the operators until April this year.
