January 14, 2007	Sunday	Zilhaj 23, 1427

ISLAMABAD, Jan 13: The average national price of an 11.8 kg cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) climbed to Rs675 as against Rs510 per cylinder, the consumer price prevailing in December 2006. It is mainly used an alternative fuel for cooking and heating in the rural areas.

The price of LPG went up in the wake of government’s move to link the base price of local stock with international market since Jan 3. The consumer price of each cylinder was in the range of Rs450 to Rs470 at the end of November 2006.

The LPG price did not record the growth in a greater quantity only in three cities, Karachi, Khuzdar and Hyderabad, as compared to the rest of the country because of low transportation charges and other margins.

Official figures, compiled by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS), available with Dawn indicated that the average consumer price of the LPG cylinder reached Rs675 in Sargodha followed by Rs660 in Peshawar.

With the upward transportation to the northern part from Peshawar, including Chitral and Dir, the average price of 11.8 kg cylinder hovered around Rs700, which was one of the sources for heating and cooking in those chilly areas as price of firewood had already skyrocketed.

The statistics showed that price of 11.8 kg LPG cylinder reached Rs660 in Larkana and Multan, Rs640 in Bahawalpur and Gujranwala, Rs630 in Quetta and Sialkot, Rs625 in Faisalabad and Rs620 in Bannu. The average price per cylinder rose to Rs605 in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore.

However, the consumer price of the cylinder hiked to Rs567 in Karachi, Rs572 in Hyderabad and Rs575 in Khuzdar, respectively, following government intervention to raise the local production price to benefit a few producers at the cost of hapless consumers.

Chairman, LPG Distributors Association, Hadi Khan, told Dawn in Karachi that if the government exempts 15 per cent general sales tax and six per cent withholding tax on import of LPG, the local availability of the LPG would increase manifold, which would ultimately benefit the end consumers.

The exemption would help increase volume of LPG import, and the price would come down at part with the locally produced price. The imported LPG per ton cost stands in the range of Rs47,000 to Rs50,000 while the locally produced LPG gas cost stands Rs34,349 per ton. This showed that there was a difference of Rs12,000 between local and imported gas.

With the exemption of these taxes, the difference would come down to Rs2,781 per ton between the locally produced gas and the imported one.

He said due to higher demand the price of LPG went up, particularly in the winter. He said that the government should take action against those retailers who were charging higher prices from consumers.

In Pakistan 1,600 tons LPG is being produced daily and the total monthly local production reaches 48,000 tons. Only 4,000 to 5,000 tons is being imported annually to meet the demand and supply gap.