LPG sells for up to Rs700 a kilo as winter demand approaches

Liquefied petroleum gas was selling for as much as Rs700 per kilogramme in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan, Minute Mirror reported, with retail prices in several cities running well above the notified rate as winter approaches.

The outlet put prices in Karachi and Lahore at Rs520 to Rs580 per kg and in Peshawar at Rs600 to Rs650 per kg.

In Lahore, consumers told Minute Mirror that shops were charging Rs550 to Rs600 per kg although the official price is Rs294. They asked the government to bring the retail rate down. The gap between the notified price and what customers said they paid works out at Rs256 to Rs306 per kg.

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, speaking at a private university's convocation in Lahore, said uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz had affected oil and gas prices. He said Pakistan had managed the situation over the past six months and that petroleum prices were set through a transparent mechanism.

Malik said gas was arriving from Qatar and that supplies would be sufficient in December and January. The government was also providing subsidised petrol to low-income people, he said.

Pakistan LPG Marketers Association senior vice president Ali Haider said a summary on the LPG pricing policy had been sent to the prime minister. He said the proposed policy would make LPG 25 per cent to 30 per cent more expensive and had been prepared without consultation with stakeholders.

Haider said higher prices would hurt businesses and consumers, and called on the government to deregulate the sector.

LPG is the main cooking fuel for households outside the piped gas network, and consumption rises in the cold months when it is also used for heating. The report did not set out an official per-kilogramme rate for each city; the Rs294 figure was the one cited by consumers in Lahore.