ISLAMABAD, July 25: The marketing companies have further increased the prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by Rs25 bringing it to around Rs160 per kg in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The LPG marketing companies have increased the prices due to rising trend in the international markets.

The distributors have lodged a strong protest against the increase and called upon the petroleum ministry and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to take notice of the situation.

“This is unrealistic approach that the LPG marketing companies were increasing the price under one pretext or the other,” said Irfan Khokhar, chairman LPG Distributors Association.

Usually the LPG prices are on decline during summer.

The increase has been made by Fon gas, Super gas, Shell gas, POL gas, UNI gas and SHV from immediate effect.

The distributors have said that the companies were making enormous profits through inventory gains, while none of the companies were importing LPG to increase their stockpiles for winters. “It is cruel on part of the companies to sell locally produced LPG, which has been purchased at lower prices, on international rates,” Mr Khokhar said adding: “The international prices do not apply to these companies.”

On the other hand the LPG marketing companies maintain that the margins set by Ogra are unrealistic, as they have ignored the high transportation cost for bringing even the locally produced LPG from Sindh to Lahore, etc.

Spokesman of LPG Association of Pakistan said that the average price of the LPG as sold by the marketing companies is Rs92.5 and the distributors need to sell it at around Rs100- Rs105 per kg in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Ogra officials, however, said that they would act when complaint was filed.