ISLAMABAD: Following increase in oil prices, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) also increased price of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by Rs10 per kilogram (kg) for month of February.

The LPG consumers include 74 percent of the total population where gas system is not available especially in remote areas. The price of domestic LPG cylinder has gone up by Rs122 and commercial cylinder by Rs471 following the recent hike in the LPG prices. The domestic cylinder will now be available at Rs 1,863 and commercial cylinder at Rs7,168.

The OGRA hiked LPG price by Rs 8,870 per ton for LPG producer companies. The LPG price in international market jumped to $574 against $536 causing an increase in domestic prices of the LPG.

The LPG Industries Association of Pakistan Chairman, Irfan Khokhar, in a statement, said that the local production stood at 735,460 metric tons, whereas industry imported 473,900 metric tons to meet local requirements during the year 2020. He said that it was being anticipated that the government was looking forward to imposing the levy tax on LPG import from Taftan border, saying that such illogical move would make the LPG dearer and away from the reach of the masses.

Khokhar said that the entire country was facing a gas shortfall. He said that faulty policy and taxes had affected the LPG industry. He demanded to remove taxes on the LPG industry to provide cheaper products to the poor.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021