Alleging OGRA was tactfully allowing the LPG producers and marketing companies to hike LPG prices, the LPGDA announced protest strike on February 15. Chairman LPGDA Irfan Khokhar said producers have illegally increased prices by Rs16 per kg without any OGRA notification, which has jacked up prices of domestic cylinder by Rs186 and commercial cylinder by Rs716. He said the increase was made possible due to the involvement of OGRA officials who have not bothered to take any action against the producers. He said association will surround OGRA offices on February 15 in Islamabad. LPG producers OGDCL and PARCOand Pakistan Petroleum Limited produce 60pc of the output.
All the producers have increased their prices by Rs15,846 to Rs109,703 per ton. They have attributed the hike in domestic prices to increased international prices of LPG, as government has linked domestic production price with Aramco Saudi Arabia prices. PARCO produces 348 tons per day, OGDCL 125 tons, PPL 155 tons and PRL 15 tons. Government had imposed petroleum levy at Rs 11,486 per ton on locally produced LPG on January 16. The step was envisioned to bring prices of domestically produced LPG at par with international prices to promote imports. However, to avoid public ire government has asked the companies to absorb the impact themselves. This would cause them a loss of more than Rs190 million per month.
