August 04, 2007	Saturday	Rajab 19, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Aug 3: The liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distributors have asked the government to fix the base price of local production lesser by 20 per cent from the international market in a bid to pass on benefits to consumers.

Though the government had recently revised downward the LPG base price but many dealers were still charging the previous higher prices of 11-kg LPG cylinder across the country.

The price of LPG went up in the wake of the government move to link the base price of local stock with international market since January 3, 2007. The consumer price of each cylinder was in the range of Rs484 to Rs600 at the end of July 2007. In December 2006, the average price of each cylinder was Rs510.

As there was no check from the government, consumers are at the mercy of retailers who demand price on their own particularly in the rural and northern areas.

LPG Distributors and Welfare Association chairman Hadi Khan on Friday asked the government to fix the base price for local LPG lesser by 20pc in comparison to international rates.He said that though Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had revised the base price downward but its impact had not been transferred to the consumers. He said that due to the Ogra announcement the LPG price now arrived at Rs40,829 per ton inclusive of general sales tax.

Mr Khan said the proposed 20pc discount in the local production mean that the LPG prices would arrive at Rs32,660 per ton. This reduction in price would be transferred to the end consumer, he added.

The chairman said that the imported price of LPG reached to Rs52,000 per ton during the last three months. This high price had discouraged the import of LPG to bridge the gap between the demand and supply.

It is observed that people have started conversions of rickshaws, motorcycles and taxis to LPG which remains more feasible than petrol or diesel.

This additional demand coupled with lower than expected production due to shutdown or poor performance of local production sources had pushed LPG retail prices to historic highs, he said.

The domestic LPG production stands at 1,600 tons daily and only 4,000-5,000 tons are being imported annually to meet the demand.