After 5 months, 12kg LPG cylinder price drops by Tk85
Prices of LPG cylinders were increased by Tk422 in past four months
Following a drop in the raw material price on the global market, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has slashed the price of 12kg liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder by Tk85 price.
Consumers will now be able to buy a 12kg LPG cylinder at Tk1,228, instead of Tk1,313, with the new price effective from Friday, 3 December, the BERC announced on Thursday.
Prices of other LPG cylinders of different sizes will be reduced by Tk7 per kg, according to the BERC.
The latest price reduction order came after five months of consecutive price hikes, when the 12kg LPG cylinder price jumped by Tk422 from June.
Md Abdul Jalil, chairman of BERC, said that the new price was adjusted to the Saudi Contract Price (CP) of Propane and Butane, the raw material for LPG.
"As per the Saudi CP for December, the price of Propane and Butane is $795 and $750 per tonne respectively," he said.
For November, the Saudi CP for Propane and Butane was $870 and $830 per tonne.
Meanwhile, the price per litre of auto gas has been fixed at Tk57.28 for December, while it was Tk61.18 last month.
The price per kg of centrally controlled (reticulated) LPG has decreased from Tk106.19 to Tk99.08.
The price of government-owned LPG cylinders, however, remains unchanged due to no price changes in raw materials which are sourced from local gas fields.
Private operators were previously at liberty to set their own prices. But on 12 April this year, for the first time the BERC set the price for LPG, both for the public and private sector.
Currently, the country consumes around 11 lakh tonnes of LPG each year, as the usage ranges from cooking to refuelling vehicles. Some 28 private operators are meeting around 98% of the total demand.