Bangladesh has increased the retail price of household liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), with the cost of the country’s most widely used 12kg cylinder rising by Tk70 to Tk1,598, reflecting higher international fuel prices and shipping costs.
The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) announced the new tariff on Sunday, saying the revised prices would take effect from 6:00 PM local time and remain in force until further notice.
The regulator said the adjustment was driven by increases in international propane and butane prices, higher freight charges, traders’ premiums and the depreciation of the Bangladeshi taka against the US dollar.
For August, BERC based its calculations on Saudi Aramco’s monthly contract prices of US$620 per metric tonne for propane and US$640 per metric tonne for butane, producing an average benchmark price of US$633 per metric tonne. The commission also factored in shipping and traders’ premiums of US$180 per metric tonne and an exchange rate of Tk123.69 per US dollar.
The regulator has set the retail price of privately supplied LPG at Tk133.15 per kilogram, resulting in revised prices across all cylinder sizes. A 5.5kg cylinder will now cost Tk732, while prices range up to Tk5,992 for a 45kg cylinder.
Prices have also increased for reticulated LPG supplied to residential consumers and for autogas used in vehicles. The new autogas price has been fixed at Tk73.67 per litre.
However, state-supplied LPG remains unchanged. The price of a government-issued 12.5kg cylinder will continue to be Tk776.93, in line with the regulator’s previous decision.
BERC said the latest adjustment reflects movements in global LPG markets, particularly the rise in Saudi Aramco’s August contract prices, which are widely used as the benchmark for pricing LPG imports into Bangladesh.
The commission also warned distributors, bottling plants and retailers against charging above the official prices, saying enforcement action would be taken against businesses found violating the pricing order.