LPG traders have withdrawn their planned two-day shutdown after securing talks with the energy regulator over seven demands, including higher commissions and an end to alleged harassment.
The LP Gas Traders Cooperative Association scrapped the plan on Wednesday after talks with the chairman of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC).
Association President Md Selim Khan told bdnews24.com the BERC chairman assured them at a 3pm meeting that their demands would be heard at a public hearing on Oct 29.
“In light of this, we are withdrawing the strike,” he said.
The association had earlier announced that all LPG shops across the country would remain closed on Oct 15 and 16.
At Monday’s press conference at the National Press Club, Selim warned that traders would close their shops indefinitely if their demands were not met within two days.
Earlier on Wednesday, Power Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku and Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir held a meeting with LPG importers and operators.
At a press conference after the meeting, the power minister warned that legal action would be taken against the traders concerned unless they withdrew the strike.
“If they do not withdraw the strike, the government will take legal action,” he said.
He said LPG is an essential commodity and attempts to press demands by disrupting its supply were unacceptable. He said action could be taken under the Essential Commodities Control Act of 1956.
At the same briefing, the commerce minister said businesses could have concerns over commissions, profits and losses or other issues, but such problems must be resolved through discussions.
He said the relevant authorities were ready to hear the traders' grievances.
However, he warned that businesses would not be allowed to exploit the market situation for their own interests.
“The government will not tolerate any attempt to use this as a pretext to hold the country hostage,” the commerce minister said.
After the ministers’ warnings, the association met the BERC chairman and scrapped the shutdown plan.
The association's key demand is that distributors' commission on each LPG cylinder be raised to Tk 150 or set at 7 percent of the retail price.
At Monday's press conference, Selim said BERC had set the distributors' commission at Tk 50 per cylinder five years ago.
Since then, costs for fuel, transportation, loading and unloading cylinders, warehouse rent and licences have all increased.
In a letter to BERC, the association said it costs Tk 50 to transport a cylinder from a company to a distributor's warehouse.
Loading, unloading and delivering it to retailers costs another Tk 35, while employee salaries, warehouse rent and other expenses amount to Tk 25.
Taking these costs into account and adding a Tk 40 profit margin, the association has demanded a commission of Tk 150 per cylinder.
Among its other demands, the association said that once the BERC announces LPG prices for a month, any company seeking to change the price must do so through the commission.
Companies must also state the actual price on their invoices, while those that do not deliver cylinders to distributors' warehouses must pay a fair transportation charge.
The traders have also demanded that unused cylinders belonging to companies that have been unable to supply gas for a long period be refilled and released into the market.
They allege that many companies have been unable to open ledgers of credit for imports, leaving several hundred thousand cylinders unused across the country.
The traders have also complained that traffic police file cases against vehicles carrying gas cylinders for having safety railings, while the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection imposes what they describe as unreasonable fines during enforcement drives.
Ending such “harassment” is also among their seven demands.