Photo: Collected
Anarchy is going on in the price of LPG by creating an artificial crisis. Buyers are having to spend an extra Tk 800 to Tk 1,000 above the government-fixed price to buy a 12kg cylinder. Consumers claim cylinders are not available in some places even by paying the extra price. Their allegation is that customers are being held hostage by forming a syndicate.
On the other hand, sellers say it is not possible for them to sell LPG at the government-fixed price as they have to buy at a higher price. In this situation, the minister has said there is no shortage in supply; action will be taken if a higher price is charged. For the month of September, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) fixed the price of a 12kg LPG cylinder at Tk 1,585. Yet it was being sold at around Tk 2,000 in most shops of the capital. In the last few days that price has risen further to reach Tk 2,300 to Tk 2,500. That is, buyers are having to count an extra Tk 700 to Tk 1,000.
Not only household users, small traders have also come under the pressure of the extra price. Consumers allege that retailers are collecting extra prices showing the excuse of the crisis.
However, traders are putting the blame for charging higher prices on distributors and dealers. They claim it cannot be sold at the government-fixed price as it has to be bought at a high price at the retail level.
In this situation, Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud said at the Secretariat that there is no shortage in the supply of LP gas in the country. He has given an assurance of taking action against those who are selling at higher prices by creating an artificial crisis. Private companies import 98 per cent of the LPG in the country’s market. Of this, 80 per cent is used in households.
