ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s LPG consumers face mounting pressure after authorities increased November’s official price, while open-market rates reportedly reached Rs630 per kilogramme amid supply shortages and warnings of a nationwide strike by marketing companies.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority fixed November’s consumer price at approximately Rs294 per kg.
However, substantially higher market prices have widened the gap between notified rates and what households actually pay.
Official Prices Rise for November
Under the revised notification, the price of an 11.8kg domestic cylinder increased to approximately Rs3,470, adding around Rs174 to household expenses. The revised rates took effect on November 1.
Ogra linked the adjustment to changes in Saudi Aramco’s contract price and the exchange rate. According to the supplied report, the international benchmark increased by 6.47 per cent, while the average dollar exchange rate declined slightly by 0.12 per cent.
Together, these movements resulted in a consumer price increase of approximately Rs14.73 per kilogramme.
LPG Distributors Association of Pakistan Chairman Irfan Khokhar attributed the shortage to the closure of the Iranian border.
He said approximately 70 per cent of Pakistan’s LPG supplies were imported from Iran, with domestic production providing the remaining share.
Khokhar urged the government to address market manipulation as disrupted supplies increased pressure on consumers.
The reported market price of Rs630 per kg is more than double the official November rate, underscoring the immediate challenge facing households dependent on LPG.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan LPG Marketers Association threatened to suspend business operations from November 16 if an upcoming policy sidelined private companies.
The Association Chairman Ali Haider opposed reversing deregulation and said the private sector had played a major role in importing LPG from Gulf suppliers.
In a letter to Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, the association alleged that the draft policy submitted to the prime minister lacked private-sector input. It demanded complete deregulation.
Industry Questions Use of Petroleum Levy
The association also questioned the use of the Rs4,669-per-tonne petroleum development levy imposed on locally produced LPG under the 2016 policy.
Haider alleged that state-owned companies had failed to arrange imports during the current shortage despite levy collections intended to support emergency and winter supplies.
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The competing concerns place supply availability, consumer prices and private-sector participation at the centre of the policy dispute.
