LPG associations have announced a nationwide halt on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales from 16 November, citing opposition to the government’s new price-setting formula and warning of a further LPG price increase in Pakistan if that method takes effect.
Ali Haider, senior vice chairman of the LPG Marketers Association, said the associations reject the new pricing approach. From 16 November, he said, LPG sales will be suspended across the country for the duration of the strike.
Why the associations are striking
According to Ali Haider, an emergency meeting of the relevant associations decided jointly to strike against the government’s revised way of fixing LPG prices. They refuse to accept the new mechanism, he said, because putting it into practice could push LPG prices up by 25 to 30 percent.
That projected rise is the associations’ stated reason for the LPG price hike in Pakistan they fear under the formula. The government introduced a new formula for determining LPG prices; the associations say they will not go along with it.
What a sales halt would cover
Under the associations’ announcement, the strike is countrywide. During the action, marketers plan to keep LPG sales closed, which would interrupt the usual supply of cooking and commercial cylinder gas while the dispute over the pricing method continues.
No separate official response from the government is included in the available account of the dispute. The associations’ position, as stated by Ali Haider, is that the formula is unacceptable because of the scale of the possible increase.
What comes next
The sales suspension is set to begin on 16 November unless the associations change course. Households and businesses that rely on LPG will be watching whether talks resume before that date, and whether any change is made to the pricing formula that the associations say could drive a 25 to 30 percent LPG price increase in Pakistan.
Aasan alfaaz mein
LPG wale associations 16 November se mulk bhar mein gas bechna band karne ka elaan kiya hai. Woh sarkar ke naye price formula ke khilaf hain. Unke mutabiq is formula se LPG 25 se 30 percent mehngi ho sakti hai. Gharoon ko cylinder milne mein rukawat ho sakti hai jab tak yeh masla hal na ho.
