Anisul Islam Noor :
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is being sold in the country’s markets at twice of the price of its production cost by creating artificial crisis or showing short supply of the LPG, markets analysts said.
Due to lack of government supervision some dishonest people are making hefty profits, they said.
The consumers are being victimized by the illegal business. The syndicate has gets advantage of government’s initiative of stopping gas supply in the residences arguing lack of gas reserve.
In the international market, one ton of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is currently $ 690 that means price of per Kg is $ 69. The price of 12 kg LPG stands at Tk 662. But in the country’s market this LPG bottle is being sold at almost twice of the price, up to Tk 1,200.
State owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) supply LPG. About 43 private companies and farms are trading LPG Bashundara LPG, EnergyPack, BEXIMCO, Petragaze, Jamuna, Total Gas, Orion, Omere and Bangladesh Oxygen Company (BOC). Besides, more than one hundred companies have been granted licenses to supply LPG.
A BPC official said, currently around three to four lakh tons of gas is needed in the country. But the supply is around 80 to 85 thousand metric tons per day. But 18 to 20 thousand metric tons is supplied by BPC while private companies are supplying 50-60 thousand metric tons of LP gas.
Meanwhile, BPC’s LPG gas is sold at a price of Tk 700 per bottle (12 kg). But private companies are selling LP gas per bottle at Tk 900 to Tk 1,250.
An official of private company conditioning anonymity said that they spend Tk 845 on a 12 kg LPG cylinder. They are sold at Tk 945.
Due to the gas crisis, the housing sector is now using LPG gas. As a result, cylinders are being used in many areas of the capital.
Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Energy Adviser M Shamsul Alam said, “Now the price of cylinders in the international market is not more than Tk 600. But the government does not control the market.
The government has no initiative to control the retail price of LPG. Companies are selling gas to the dealer at a higher price. The dealers make profit.
“It is important to control the price. The government has something to do.” he said.
Professor of the Department of Petroleum Division of BUET Tamim said, Bangladesh is not a oil producing country. As a result, it is not possible for us to produce LPG. The price would be very low if it could produce LPG itself.
He said that the refinery currently has only one million tons of oil refined. The amount of LPG available from there is very little. And there are also very few LPG from the condensate found in the Kailashtila gas field in Sylhet.In all, only 20,000 tonnes of LPG are available, which can meet only five percent of the demand.
He further said, “The government will have to make policies to control the price. All things can be determined by the principles. ‘
