Hundreds of people were seen in queues near fuel filling stations and retail shops to buy kerosene as they were compelled to shift from using gas cookers to kerosene stoves for cooking owing to the present shortage of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG).
The two LPG providers, Litro Gas Lanka Ltd and Laugfs Gas PLC companies are waiting for the government’s solution of settling the present issues of US dollar shortage and the inability in opening LCs in banks, officials of the companies said.
This was the main issue faced by Laugfs for the unnecessary delay in the importation of LPG triggering the shortage of LPG cylinders in the market, chairman of the company W.K.H Wegapitiya said.
He added that there was no positive response from the government to tackle the importers dollar issue forcing the Laugfs Gas to halt the supply of cooking gas to consumers.
Litro Gas Lanka Ltd has to fulfill the whole LPG demand in the local market due to the collapse of the Laugfs supply, a senior official of the company revealed.
The sudden high demand for kerosene triggered by the LPG shortage has made it difficult for the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation to supply necessary lamp oil also used for cooking to the market, an official said.
Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila noted that the Corporation is losing Rs. 23 million from the sale of kerosene which is subsidised.
The Minister said that about 550 metric tons of kerosene is sold daily and the reason for the shortage of kerosene is the sudden high demand. He said one of the reasons is the massive price gap between kerosene and diesel.
He noted that as a litre of kerosene costs Rs. 77 while a litre of diesel costs Rs. 111, not only factory machinery, stoves, boats but even some buses are running on kerosene these days.
Kerosene is not available in the world market as it is produced as jet fuel and the Sri Lankan oil refinery is producing it as a byproduct of the crude oil refining process, said Minister Gammanpila.
The Minister pointed out that kerosene is sold at a subsidised price very much lower than the production cost for the benefit of the fisher community and low income earners. (Bandula)
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