Consumers in Bangladesh are facing yet another squeeze on their household budgets after the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) announced a fresh hike in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices. The price of a widely used 12kg LPG cylinder has been increased by Tk 223, setting the new official rate at Tk 2,060, effective from 8:00 pm on Monday.
This is the second consecutive monthly increase, following a Tk 252 hike in October that had already pushed the price to Tk 1,837. The regulator attributes the adjustment to rising international costs, specifically aligning with the latest Saudi Aramco Contract Price (Saudi CP), where the average benchmark for propane and butane rose to $759 per tonne from $712.50 in October.
However, the official price tag offers little comfort to the roughly 10 million consumers who rely on LPG—80% of whom use it for household cooking. For months, cylinders have been selling well above the government-fixed rate, with retail prices in Dhaka and other areas hovering between Tk 2,200 and Tk 2,300 due to a persistent supply crunch that began in mid-September.
The continued volatility has drawn sharp political criticism. Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar protested the hike, alleging that the government's failure to regulate the market has left low- and middle-income families bearing the brunt of mismanagement and unjustified profiteering.
Under the new BERC tariff, the retail price for private-sector LPG is set at Tk 171.68 per kilogram, while autogas used in vehicles has been raised to Tk 91.95 per litre. The commission has directed that LPG cannot be sold above the fixed rates at any stage of the supply chain, though enforcing this on the ground remains an ongoing challenge.
Tags:
Bangladesh