The uncontrolled market of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used for cooking, is not only placing an increasing burden on people across all sections of society, from working-class families to the middle class, but has also become a source of public discontent.
Rising prices of fuel, electricity and LPG have been a major factor fuelling the recent garment workers’ protests in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and other parts of the country.
LPG prices in Bangladesh are already 45–50 per cent higher than those in neighbouring countries. If consumers still have to pay far more than the government-fixed price when buying LPG cylinders from the market, it raises questions about whether any market monitoring system exists at all.
The heaviest impact of Iran’s war with the United States and Israel, which began in February, has been felt in the energy market. LPG imports from relatively nearby sources in the Middle East and Africa have almost come to a halt.
Currently, 85 per cent of the LPG imported into Bangladesh comes from the United States. It is natural for LPG prices to rise because of higher prices on the global market and increased transportation costs.
Before the Iran war began, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC)-set price of a 12kg LPG cylinder was Tk 1,341. Then, how could the price have risen to Tk 2,060 in November?
The government should provide a clear explanation of how other countries in South Asia, including India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, are managing to supply LPG to consumers at much lower prices than Bangladesh despite facing the same global circumstances.
An even more troubling reality is that, despite two increases totalling Tk 435 in the price of a 12kg LPG cylinder over the past month, consumers still have to pay Tk 300–440 more than the official rate, to buy cooking gas from the market.
Most recently, when the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) set LPG prices last November through a non-transparent process, it increased the commissions of all parties involved—importers, distributors, and retailers. Only the interests of consumers were ignored.
Given these circumstances, the burden lies on the government to guarantee that consumers can buy cooking gas at regulated prices in the market. However, the track record over the last month and a half indicates that the government’s market monitoring bodies, including the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, have failed to take effective measures.
At present, ten million consumers in the country depend on LPG for cooking. More than four and a half years of sustained high inflation has already reduced the real income of a vast population, leading to an alarming rise in poverty rates.
While it is true that we have no control over global realities like war and pandemics, the government's surrender to the recurring tactic of hiking prices by creating supply shortages in the LPG sector is completely unacceptable.
To free citizens from this hostage situation, the government must amend the LPG policy. The general public is suffering because the LPG market has been left entirely to the private sector, allowing only a handful of companies to establish a monopoly over imports.
Therefore, to restore balance to the market, the decision taken in January to import LPG through the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) must be implemented swiftly. At the same time, it is also necessary to establish LPG storage and sales networks under state management.
At a time when people are struggling to cope under the relentless pressure of inflation, there is no alternative to taking strict action against whoever—whether importers, distributors, or retailers—is manipulating the market to make excessive profits. Isolated one- or two-day drives in the retail market will yield no results.
Not just for LPG, the government must establish year-round market monitoring for all essential commodities. Measures to establish control over the unregulated LPG market must be taken immediately.