Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has slashed the retail prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 5.0 per cent for January trading as the prices of its ingredients in the international market fell.
The new price will come into effect from 6:00 pm on Monday, according to BERC Chairman Abdul Jalil.
The private operators would now charge Tk 1,232 per 12kg cylinder, down Tk 35 from December’s retail price of Tk 1,297.
The commission adjusted the cooking fuel prices for the domestic market considering the Saudi Aramco contract price (CP) of January 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 is US$590 per tonne and butane $605 per tonne for January trading.
The BERC considered the propane and butane mixture at the ratio of 35:65 to get the average price at $599.75 per tonne, BERC chairman Md Abdul Jalil said Monday, while announcing the new rate virtually.
The BERC has been fixing the LPG prices for private operators within the first week of every month over the past year.
The new prices will have an immediate effect, said the BERC acting chairman.
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 lower prices in January, he said.
The price of LPG to be supplied through a reticulated system, or centralised storage system, will be Tk 99.46 per kg including VAT for January.
The retail price of autogas, the LPG used in vehicles, also has been reduced to Tk 57.41 per litre including VAT from the previous Tk 60.41.
The price of state-owned LP Gas's LPG has been kept unchanged at Tk 591 per 12.5 kg cylinder.
Currently, 27 LPG operators are doing business although some 58 received licences to carry out the business.
Some 20 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.
There are some 20 LPG terminals across the country and the reserve capacity has around 100,000 tonnes in total.
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.
