DHAKA -- Households in Bangladesh are paying as much as 36% more than official prices for cooking gas as the government appears to be losing its grip on the key market amid the risk of strike action by fuel distributors.

The price of a 12-kilogram liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder, commonly used by households, was fixed at 1,837 taka (about $15) for October by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC). But retailers in Dhaka are selling it for 2,300 to 2,500 taka.

Despite Bangladesh importing sufficient quantities of LPG, shortages have appeared across the supply chain, with importers and distributors trading blame for the gap between regulated prices and those paid by consumers. The former say distributors are creating artificial shortages and selling above the regulated price, while the latter blame uneven supply and market concentration. At the same time, the government is facing criticism that it is not doing enough to enforce the official price.

Bangladesh requires about 150,000 metric tons of LPG a month, and imports reached 156,000 tons in September, according to the National Board of Revenue, following a similar volume in August.

For consumers such as Parvin Sultana in Dhaka, the crisis has become a major burden since it began in December last year.

"The gas price for a 12 kg cylinder was 1,200 taka just a year ago, and then they started charging us nearly 2,000 overnight," she said. "The government fixed it at over 1,800 this month, but ever since they started overcharging, I never got this to government rate." The 12 kg cylinder, widely used by households, serves as the main reference point for prices, although LPG is sold in sizes ranging from 5 kg to 45 kg. BERC raised the official price of a 12 kg cylinder by 252 taka on Oct. 4, following a reduction in September. The latest adjustment set the price at 153.06 taka per kg, including value-added tax.

The regulator based its October price on Saudi Aramco's contract prices of $680 per ton for propane and $730 for butane. It also included shipping and trader premiums of $250 per ton and an average exchange rate of 123.18 taka per U.S. dollar.

Mohammad Ahsanul Jabbar, general secretary of the LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh, said the official price had been consistently increased over the past several months because international costs had risen due to the Middle East conflict. He said higher shipping costs and international LPG prices had increased pressure on the market, while declining domestic natural gas production had also pushed up demand for LPG.

Despite the government's price increase, consumers were already paying the equivalent of about 191 to 208 taka per kilogram. The October adjustment therefore did little to resolve the gap between the official rate and the prices households actually face.

BERC did not respond to requests for comment on why its prices were not being implemented and what action it had taken against sellers charging above the official rate.

On Sept. 30, energy minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmood instructed district commissioners to investigate whether artificial shortages were being created to charge higher prices. On Oct. 6, Information and Broadcasting Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman said the government had intensified monitoring, with mobile courts and local administrations checking supplies and prices. But the measures are yet to resolve the price gap.

Against this backdrop, LPG distributors had said they were going to hold a nationwide strike on Thursday and Friday last week, demanding an increase in their commission from 50 taka to at least 150 taka per 12 kg cylinder, as they say the current rate is too low to cover rising transport and operating costs. They also called for an end to alleged harassment by law enforcement agencies and measures to bring idle cylinders back into circulation.

However, the day before the planned strike, Mahmood warned traders they would face legal action if they proceeded. The strike was canceled the same day after a meeting with BERC, which agreed to discuss the distributors' demands at a public hearing scheduled for Oct. 29. The dispute has exposed a sharp disagreement over who is responsible for the problem.

"Distributors are taking advantage of this situation and creating a crisis," Jabbar said, pointing to LPG import statistics. He added that operators, which import, bottle and market the gas, were selling LPG at the price set by the government.

Distributors, meanwhile, say the market structure, where just a handful of companies control imports, is affecting supply. Selim Khan, president of the LPG Traders Cooperative Association, said importers charge different prices for orders and alleged that some charged above the government rate. An order list provided by Khan, which could not be independently verified, showed many companies followed the BERC price, but there were some that charged higher.

In addition, there are 30 million empty cylinders, he said, without clarifying how many were set to be refilled, indicating that distributors were not concealing supply. "To my knowledge, no distributor has excess gas," Khan said.

AHM Shafiquzzaman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, rejected the industry's attempt to shift responsibility between importers and distributors. He argued that the regulator and other authorities had legal powers to investigate stockpiling, restrictions of supply and overcharging, but had failed to use them effectively.

"Consumers can complain to the consumer rights authority if retailers charge above the government-fixed price, and shops can be fined or closed. Stockpiling LPG or deliberately restricting supply can lead to cases under the Special Powers Act. Operators can also face action for violating their license conditions," he said. "But how many warehouses have been sealed? How many cases have been filed under the Special Powers Act?" Masum Billah is a contributing writer.