Consumers fear paying Tk 2500 for 12-kg LPG cylinder as 'BERC sides with traders'

The government-set price of a 12-kg LPG cylinder has risen gradually in 2026 to reach Tk 2,060 in November, which is 57.73 percent higher than at the start of the year, while consumers apprehend paying Tk 2500 or more in the absence of strict market monitoring.

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Monday raised the price of a 12-kg liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder by Tk 223 to Tk 2,060.

In January the price stood at Tk 1,306, meaning the cost per cylinder has gone up by Tk 754 in 11 months.

Criticising the government's decision, AHM Shafiquzzaman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), told UNB that LPG prices have been raised in succesive rounds since April, with some token reductions in between, and the overall increase far outweighs the occasional reductions in between.

The government, through BERC, sets the price of LPG at the start of each month. On top of that it is a given that the price the consumer pays at the retail level will exceed that by at least a few hundred taka.

"The price of a 12-kg cylinder has now crossed Tk 2,000, which is deeply distressing for ordinary consumers," Shafiquzzaman said.

"On behalf of consumers, we repeatedly urged the government not to raise LPG prices in November under any circumstances. More than 80 percent of LPG is used by ordinary consumers. But disregarding consumers, the government has raised the price to protect the interests of businesses," he said.

BERC held a public hearing on LPG pricing on October 29. At the hearing, CAB submitted a written complaint saying traders were seeking a price hike by citing supply shortages. The BERC however, would seem to have sided with them anyway.

CAB alleged that, despite import records and available stocks, businesses were creating an artificial crisis by withholding supply from the market, yet no one was holding them accountable.

It also said importers cited higher shipping charges, dollar exchange rates and other costs, but the actual documents behind those claims were not being verified.

The organisation demanded that the public be told how much costs had actually risen in terms of the Saudi contract price, freight and trade premiums, insurance and exchange rates.

"The price was raised on the pretext of rising costs, but the public never learned how much costs had actually gone up. Pressure on consumers has increased, while businesses are happy. This decision is entirely to please businesses. In the name of a public hearing, consumers have been outright deceived this time," Shafiquzzaman said.

He said the hike would hit small hoteliers and salaried consumers hard and push up their monthly expenses.

"A family of four to five members needs one and a half 12-kg cylinders a month. Traders will sell LPG at prices even higher than what the government has set, and the government will be unable to do anything about monitoring this. A small family will now spend Tk 3,500 to Tk 4,000 a month on LPG alone," he said.

Consumers said that they have to buy LPG at prices above the government-set rate. They fear that after the latest increase, a 12-kg cylinder will take the price they have to pay close to Tk 2500.

Moinul Hasan, an employee of a private company, said that although the October price of a 12-kg cylinder was Tk 1,837, he had to pay Tk 400–500 more.

"In reality, the price of a 12-kg cylinder has been above Tk 2,000 for a while. The last time I bought one, I paid Tk 2,350. Now that the price has gone up, I am sure I will have to pay more than Tk 2,500," he said.

Another consumer, homemaker Fahmida Akter, voiced her frustration.

"To cut LPG costs, I bought an electric cooker two months ago. But as the electricity bill came in higher, I increased my LPG use again. Now the LPG price has gone up again. We consumers are just swinging like a pendulum at the mercy of market prices," she said.

It is not only households that are affected. Imran Hossain, general secretary of the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association, warned that the price hike would become a huge burden for small restaurant operators.

"The condition of restaurant businesses in the country is already dire. People do not have money to eat out. If food prices are raised in line with rising costs, restaurants will be empty. On top of that, the government keeps raising LPG prices. The entire restaurant-based food chain will come under threat," he told UNB.

BERC has been setting LPG prices since April 2021, when the price of a 12-kg cylinder was first fixed at Tk 975. There are currently 35 actively registered LPG importing companies in the country, of which 23 have the infrastructure and capacity to import.

Despite 23 companies having the capacity, only 10 firms imported LPG in September, according to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

At the BERC public hearing, these companies had sought to raise the existing commission of Tk 200 per 12-kg cylinder: Omera proposed Tk 478, Petromax Tk 349 and Delta Tk 360, while Meghna Group proposed Tk 300.

"These corporate businessmen and distributors are holding the people hostage, and this time the government has made a decision on their behalf," M Shamsul Alam, CAB's energy adviser, told UNB, expressing anger.

He said oligarchs were running rampant in the LPG import market, and the government, having yielded to them, was repeatedly putting ordinary people under pressure.

Unless the energy policy is overhauled, he said, people-friendly energy decisions cannot be made.

The energy expert called for a complete overhaul of the entire energy policy and expressed hope that the government would make BERC effective in setting people-friendly energy prices.

Source: UNB