Open-market prices for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have reached record levels in colder parts of Pakistan. Buyers in hilly areas are paying up to Rs600 per kg, and those in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa up to Rs500 per kg, well above the Rs279 per kg official rate that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) fixed for October. The LPG price hike comes amid a serious shortfall, with supplies from Iran at negligible levels. LPG is the bottled gas that households use for cooking and heating.
Why supplies have tightened
Pakistan produces between 2,000 and 2,500 tonnes of LPG a day, and a similar quantity arrives through imports and smuggling from Iran. The sudden closure of all trading points with Iran has disrupted that flow, and open-market prices have moved sharply as a result. Demand is also climbing, with daily consumption of around 4,000 to 4,500 tonnes rising to 6,000 to 7,000 tonnes a day at the winter peak.
Winter also puts pressure on piped gas. Gas load-shedding, the rationing of natural gas supply, has pushed households in settled areas served by Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) and parts of Sui Southern Gas Ltd toward LPG. Remote areas that rely on LPG for heating and cooking are also seeing higher demand.
Official rate and the market gap
Official rates are the benchmark against which this LPG price hike is measured. Ogra's official October rate is Rs279 per kg, and the official price of a domestic cylinder is Rs3,350. Market prices for a domestic cylinder have reached Rs7,200 in hilly areas and Rs6,000 in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Irfan Khokhar, chairman of the LPG Distributors Association, said the average market price was around Rs450 per kg across the country. He also said sellers were taking huge margins even on locally produced LPG. Khokhar accused Ogra of standing by while what he called billions of rupees in overcharging took place. That figure is the association's allegation and has not been independently confirmed.
What distributors want next
Khokhar warned that prices could rise further in the coming days, and said the situation stems from the regulator's mismanagement and lack of oversight. He called for immediate LPG imports, for Ogra to amend the required notifications, and for a single basket price covering both imported and locally produced gas. He also proposed a mechanism similar to the one used for petrol and diesel, where local and imported prices are blended. With winter demand still rising, households in colder areas may face higher prices before any supply relief arrives.
Aasan alfaaz mein
LPG ki qeemat Pakistan ke thande ilaqon mein rikaurd level par pahunch gayi hai. Pahaari ilaqon mein khuli market mein LPG Rs600 fi kilo tak bik rahi hai, jabke sarkari rate Rs279 fi kilo hai. Iran se supply mein kami aur sardi mein barhti demand ki wajah se qeemat mazeed barh sakti hai. Agar aap gas cylinder ya heating ke liye LPG istemal karte hain, to apne bajat mein is ka asar zaroor mehsoos hoga.
