The price has risen, but the shortage persists.
Across Dhaka, consumers searching for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders are still being quoted prices far above the official rate, while some familiar brands have vanished from shops and unlikely retailers have started selling gas alongside mobile phone top-ups and cement.
On Oct 4, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) raised the price of a 12kg cylinder by Tk 252 to Tk 1,837 for October, up from Tk 1,585.
Yet consumers continue to pay inflated prices, raising a question: if the price has been adjusted, why has supply not returned to normal?
On Wednesday, a resident of Paikpara in Mirpur said a retailer demanded Tk 2,400 for a cylinder, claiming his purchase cost was Tk 2,300.
The LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh (LOAB) says imports are sufficient.
The country imported 156,000 tonnes in September, close to August’s 158,000 tonnes, which the association considers enough to meet demand.
It has urged the government to act against sellers charging above the official rate.
A Shortage That Outlasted Price Hike
The squeeze began after a fire at a floating liquefied natural gas terminal in Cox’s Bazar’s Moheshkhali on Jul 21 reduced supplies to the national grid.
LNG supplies returned to normal around mid-September, but LPG prices had already begun climbing, leaving cylinder users paying more even as the piped-gas situation improved.
On Sept 20, the government also raised fuel prices by Tk 20 per litre. LPG businesses subsequently pressed for a cylinder price increase, which BERC announced on Sunday.
The adjustment, however, has not restored normal availability.
“Cylinders are expensive to buy. We pay the company’s dealer in advance. Even then, they don’t give us the cylinders,” Noor Hossain Bappi, owner of Bappi Enterprise in Swamibagh, told bdnews24.com.
A visit to shops across Dhaka found cylinders from two of six companies missing from most outlets. Distributors said those companies had stopped supplying cylinders for several weeks and were no longer accepting orders.
Bangladesh has about 10 million LPG customers, around 80 percent of whom use the fuel for household cooking.
Importers and Distributors Disagree
Abu Taher Quraishi, treasurer of the LP Gas Business Cooperative Association, said distributors had paid in advance for cylinders due on Monday, Oct 5, the day after the price adjustment.
Companies then demanded the new rate not only for subsequent deliveries but also for cylinders supplied from the beginning of the month.
Customers can exchange an empty cylinder for a full one from the same company, he said. Switching brands, however, means buying both a cylinder and its gas.
LOAB President Mohammad Amirul Haque denied that distributors were being charged above the official rate, saying transactions were conducted through banks and cylinders supplied against bank receipts.
“We conduct all our transactions through banks. Cylinders are supplied to dealers against bank receipts. The government should take action against those charging more. If we charge more, we will accept punishment,” he told bdnews24.com.
Asked why supplies were not increasing, he said: “The companies are supplying normally. Cylinders are being provided to dealers as before.”
Amirul said companies had no control over distributors, dealers and retailers charging consumers more.
He added: “No one can sell medicine above the fixed price just because they want to. So why should cylinders be sold at higher prices? We stand with the government to catch those who are selling at higher prices.”
LOAB Vice-Chairman Humayun Rashid, chief executive of Energy Pack Power Generation, offered another explanation: the number of LPG importers has fallen to six.
“The number of LPG importers must be increased. Higher imports will make prices more affordable in a competitive market,” he said.
Businesses Demand Higher Commissions
The distributors’ association has asked the BERC to raise commissions, arguing that existing rates no longer cover operating costs.
In a letter sent on Tuesday, it said companies had issued new price lists setting 12kg cylinder prices between Tk 1,740 and Tk 2,000.
The association estimated per-cylinder costs at Tk 50 for transport to distributors’ warehouses, Tk 35 for loading, unloading and delivery to retailers, and Tk 25 for staff, rent, electricity, licence fees and other expenses. Including Tk 40 in distributor profit, it put the total at Tk 150.
The BERC, it said, had kept the commission at Tk 50 for five years, leaving a Tk 100 shortfall under current conditions. Differences between companies’ prices were also destabilising the market.
The association sent its letter to the energy and commerce ministries, the consumer rights directorate and district deputy commissioners.
After meeting district and divisional representatives on Thursday, it decided to announce a new programme on Monday to press for higher commissions.
Cylinders Appear in Unlikely Shops
The Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Advisor Zahed Ur Rahman said district administrators would be instructed to maintain supplies and enforce the official price.
Speaking at the Secretariat on Tuesday, he warned that the government would act against sellers charging more.
Yet cylinders are appearing in mobile recharge shops, cement outlets and grocery stores.
At Kajal Telecom, a mobile recharge shop in Rampura market, six cylinders from different companies were on display on Wednesday.
“Whichever company you choose, the price is Tk 2,300. I can’t sell for less. There are no cylinders available, and the dealers aren’t supplying them. These are from previous purchases,” owner Abu Bakar Siddique told bdnews24.com.
Nearby, Hasanuzzaman, owner of LPG retailer Shihab Enterprise, said even traders from unrelated businesses were selling cylinders.
“Transport costs are higher. And we buy them at a higher price,” he said when asked why his prices exceeded the official rate, declining to identify his supplier.
At a cement shop on Shaheed Faruk Road in Jatrabari, employee Shahadat Hossain described the sales as a sideline.
“There is a shortage now. The owner also needs cylinders. There is space in the shop, so he has started a side business,” he told bdnews24.com.
The spread of cylinder sales into unrelated outlets raises safety concerns as well as questions about prices.
LPG sellers must obtain licences from several government agencies, including the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence, because the gas is highly flammable.