The retail price of a 12kg liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder jumped by around 76% within a week, from the government-fixed Tk1,250 to over Tk2,200, triggering chaos in the cooking gas market and forcing many retailers to shut shops temporarily.
LPG bottlers said they were supplying cylinders at the government-set rate despite rising costs, but a temporary shortage has allowed distributors, dealers and retailers to exploit the situation by sharply increasing prices.
Bangladesh usually imports around 1.5 lakh tonnes of LPG every month, but imports fell to about 96,000 tonnes in December due to US sanctions on some LPG carriers and seasonal supply cuts amid higher demand in Europe, LPG Operators’ Association of Bangladesh (LOAB) Senior Vice President Humayun Rashid told TIMES of Bangladesh.
He said companies opened letters of credit for imports, but exporters and traders failed to ensure timely shipments.
The shortfall, which is expected to be met later this month, has fuelled price escalation in the retail market, in violation of the law as cooking gas must be sold at the rate fixed by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC).
Ripon Ahmed, a bottled cooking gas retailer in Dhaka’s Moghbazar area, said he was buying 12kg cylinders at around Tk1,250 a week ago but had to pay dealers up to Tk1,800 on Friday to keep supplying his regular customers.
Two LPG dealerships rejected him on Saturday even at that rate, he said, only to sell the same cylinders to other retailers at Tk2,200.
“I came back home, shutting the shop,” Ripon said.
At Janata Traders in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar, daily LPG sales dropped by half, with the dealer saying higher purchase costs forced them to sell at even higher prices.
For the past two days, the LPG market has turned into a blame game, with no segment admitting profiteering.
Mohammad Aslam, a city resident, said he was forced to buy a 12kg cylinder at Tk2,100 from a nearby dealership.
“How a price-controlled energy product is selling at 70%-80% higher prices is unacceptable,” he said, urging strict market monitoring.
He added that sellers initially claimed they had no stock, but once he agreed to pay a “sky-high price”, a cylinder appeared from a nearby outlet.
Savar-based Insaf Corporation owner Alokor Rahman said companies were charging slightly higher prices and the resulting scarcity had pushed prices sharply at the dealer level.
Dhaka has emerged as the hotspot for price hikes, while North Bengal has seen a more moderate increase, he said.
He said no dealer was willing to supply LPG even at Tk1,700 on Saturday, prompting him to plan sourcing from rural districts where prices have not risen as steeply.
LOAB President Amirul Haque said international LPG prices had increased but BERC was yet to adjust domestic prices accordingly.
Many companies, he said, have lost interest in aggressively importing LPG to fill the supply gap and stabilise the market.
Humayun Rashid, however, said the market is expected to ease by the end of the month as new consignments enter the country.
