The international price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has declined by $27.50 to $842.50 per ton for September 2011, and local producers must reduce local LPG price by Rs 2500 per ton immediately. This was stated by the acting chairman of All Pakistan LPG Distributors Association (APLDA) Mohammad Atique Khan here Tuesday. He said Saudi Armco Contract Price (CP) the price of propane has slipped by $45 to $790 per ton while butane is down by $20 to $865 per ton.
Following the decline in the international pricing benchmark for the fuel, the price of LPG should be reduced to Rs 2.5 per kg, Rs 30 per 11.8kg cylinder and Rs 114 per 45.5kg cylinder, he added. Atique urged local producers to announce a cut so that LPG can become affordable for domestic consumers. High LPG prices have become out of reach for the poor consumers and, therefore, its sale has declined by 45 to 55 percent in the last so many months, he added.
He said that most of distributors have closed their businesses due to high LPG prices. Atique said it was the right of domestic consumers to get a reduction in local prices as LPG's international price has declined. He alleged that due to high prices of LPG, most of public transport including coaches, auto rickshaws, pick-up vans, taxis and mini-trucks has been converted to CNG.
Similarly, in remote and hilly areas, people now prefer to cut trees to meet their fuel requirements, due to high prices of LPG. Atique urged the government to devise a mechanism for calculating. LPG prices which are acceptable to every stakeholders so that LPG prices can be brought at minimum possible level in the country. This will boost the use of LPG as alternative fuel, he noted. He also underlined the need to increase local production of LPG in the country to bring down its prices.-PR
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