The price of Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have been changed or increased by 5% as of Thursday, March 3, 2022.
This follows the reinstatement of the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy (PSRL) on gasoline.
Petrol’s restored PSRL is ¢0.16 pesewas per litre, diesel’s is ¢0.14 pesewas per litre, and LPG’s is ¢0.14 pesewas per kilogram.
Experts have warned that the reinstatement of the PSRL, along with the accompanying increase in LPG costs, will further diminish the commodity’s use rate and worsen the situation for normal users.
The Price of LPG and the cost of Filling a Cylinder
LPG now costs ¢9.76 per kilogram, which is roughly ¢140 for a 14.5 kg cylinder and ¢50 for a 5 kg cylinder.
The problem, according to Gabriel Kumi, Vice President of the LPG Marketers Association, is due to the cedi’s poor performance.
“Whenever the cost increases exponentially up and you have ongoing taxes and levies,” he continues, “you expect the price to continue to go up.”
During the first pricing window, the price climbed from ¢7.89 to ¢8.12 in December 2021.
In the second window of January 2022, it increased to ¢8.22.
In the first window of February 2022, the price rose to ¢8.60, then to ¢9.29 in the second window.
So the price is currently 9.76 cedis.
The LPG Marketers Association claims that the rapid spike in costs is affecting their business because LPG demand is declining.
“Business is not doing well because LPG usage is decreasing drastically, according to statistics.”
There will be a bevy of negative consequences if no action is taken and the price continues to climb at its current rate.
We are not growing, and some of our members have started laying off employees today.
Gabriel Kumi continued, “The repercussions are terrible.”
To make commodities more available to the general public, the government has set a goal of increasing commodity consumption from 25% to 50% by 2030.
Many others, on the other hand, have argued that, given the current rate of commodity price inflation, this aim may be impossible to achieve.
As the LPG price goes up by by the margin of 5%, as well as other matters arising, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has announced that it is in discussions with the Finance and Energy Ministries to identify a viable alternative to the current fuel price hikes.
The discussions, according to the statement, would primarily focus on the abolition of some taxes on petroleum products.
