An acute crisis has gripped Bangladesh's bottled Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) market, with 12-kg cylinders selling at Tk300 to Tk500 above government-fixed rates as pipeline gas shortfalls, Middle East geopolitical tensions, and skyrocketing international freight costs strain supplies.
On Sunday, 12-kg LPG cylinders were retailing between Tk1,830 and Tk2,100 across various cities, despite the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) fixing the price at Tk1,585 on September 10.
Even at inflated rates, consumers face severe supply shortages, with many retail outlets completely out of stock.
Public sector LPG operator LP Gas Limited (LPGL) has kept its 12.5-kg cylinder price unchanged at Tk777, but its market share remains minimal compared to private distributors.
Industry insiders attributed the crisis to a sharp decline in domestic pipeline gas supply, forcing household, industrial, and commercial consumers to switch to bottled LPG.
According to Petrobangla, national natural gas demand stands near 4,000 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD), against a total current supply of around 2,600 MMCFD.
Although Petrobangla has a domestic extraction capacity of 2,750 MMCFD and regasification capacity of 1,100 MMCFD from two floating LNG terminals in Moheshkhali, recent global LNG market disruptions have tripled procurement costs, worsening overall gas availability.
BERC Member (Gas) Md Mizanur Rahman said private operators imported and supplied 126,000 tonnes of LPG this month—up from 100,000 to 106,000 tonnes during the same period in previous years.
However, the deficit in pipeline gas has created an unprecedented demand surge that current LPG distribution networks struggle to meet.
Amid the supply crunch, global LPG prices and ocean freight rates have escalated sharply.
For September, Saudi Aramco set contract prices (Saudi CP) at $625 per tonne for propane and $660 per tonne for butane (up from $620 and $640 in August). Local operators use a 35:65 propane-butane ratio to process bottled gas.
Capt Mainul Ahsan Khan, deputy managing director of Smart Group of Industries (parent company of BM Energy), pointed out that Middle East conflicts have restricted global LPG availability, enabling wealthier nations to outbid local importers.
"BERC set the retail price based on a freight benchmark of $160 per tonne, but actual international freight charges have surged to $400 per tonne," Khan explained. "Private operators cannot absorb such heavy losses continuously without government subsidies. Most importers are running out of stock."
Field visits in Chittagong’s Bakalia, Chandgaon, and Lalkhan Bazar areas revealed widespread shortages.
Dealers reported that bottling plants have halted or drastically reduced deliveries over the past three days.
In retail shops, 12-kg cylinders of JMI were selling at Tk1,850, Fresh and Jamuna at Tk1,830–1,880, Total and Omera at Tk1,900–1,950, and Beximco composite cylinders at Tk2,100.
BERC officials confirmed they have held meetings with LPG producers and importers to stabilise market distribution and restore regular supply channels.
