LPG price in Pakistan: Rs550 a kg in shops, OGRA rate is Rs294

Petrol and diesel have been cut six times in a row, but anyone who cooks on a cylinder has not felt it. LPG is selling for around Rs500 to Rs550 a kilogram in many markets, Dawn reported on Wednesday, while the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s official price for November is Rs294.1 a kilogram.

What should an LPG cylinder cost in November?

OGRA raised the consumer price by 5.27% from 1 November, to Rs294.1 per kg from Rs279.3 in October, The News reported from the regulator’s notification. At that rate:

• a domestic 11.8 kg cylinder should cost about Rs3,470, up Rs174 from October;
• a commercial 45.4 kg cylinder should cost about Rs13,351, up Rs669.

October’s price had already gone up 8%. So the official rate has risen two months running, and the shop price is far above even that.

Why are shops charging so much more?

The gap comes down to supply. Traders say Pakistan used to get about 7,000 tonnes of LPG a day overland from Iran, and that flow was hit when two border crossings closed on 17 October, as Reuters reported earlier this month. With imports squeezed and winter demand starting, distributors in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been selling at up to Rs500 a kg, and reports put hilly areas as high as Rs600, according to Times of Karachi’s round-up of market prices.

Dawn’s market survey this week put LPG at Rs550 a kg and said consumers have been paying Rs500 to Rs550 for months, which means the official price is mostly a number on paper.

What about the cheaper petrol and diesel?

The government cut petrol by Rs8 to Rs338 a litre and diesel by Rs7 to Rs371 from 11 November, the sixth straight reduction. Diesel was Rs402 a litre on 31 October. Transporters have been slow to pass that saving on in fares, Dawn reported, and wholesalers said their rates had not moved yet.

Is help coming for LPG users?

Two things are moving:

• A subsidy plan: the prime minister has directed that LPG be given to deserving households at Rs300 to Rs350 a kg, using the Benazir Income Support Programme’s eligibility rules, Dawn reported. How and when it will reach people has not been announced.
• No strike for now: the Pakistan LPG Marketers Association had called a strike for 16 November over the new LPG policy, saying it was not consulted. The strike was postponed after talks with the government.

What you can do

Ask your dealer for the OGRA rate and check the cylinder’s weight on a scale before paying; the regulator’s price list is published on its website each month. Complaints about overcharging go to the district administration or OGRA’s complaint cell.

This is information on prices, not financial advice. OGRA’s December LPG price is due at the end of the month, and the BISP-based subsidy is the thing to watch before then.