LPG Price in Pakistan: Official Cylinder Rs3,296, Bazaar Charging Rs7,000

Assalam-o-Alaikum, my dear readers. I hope you and your family are well today. I am Maryam, and today I want to talk about something that is sitting in almost every Pakistani kitchen right now, quietly eating a bigger and bigger share of the monthly budget.

This morning, the gas pressure in my area was low again. That is normal now in winter in Lahore, we all know it. So like many families, we switched on the LPG cylinder to make breakfast. And as the roti cooked, I did a small calculation in my head. The same cylinder that cost my family around three thousand rupees not so long ago now costs double that in the bazaar, sometimes more. I am not writing from a news studio. I am writing from a kitchen, like yours. And if your cylinder bill has also doubled, this article is for you.

The Official Price and the Bazaar Price Are Two Different Worlds

Let me start with the official number, because it matters. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, OGRA, fixed the maximum consumer price of LPG at Rs279.34 per kg from 1 October 2026. That works out to Rs3,296 for an 11.8kg domestic cylinder. That is the official price. It is written in a government notification. It is the price every family is supposed to pay.

Now let me tell you what families are actually paying. Dawn has reported that a standard 11.57kg cylinder is selling in the market for between Rs6,000 and Rs7,200. That is nearly double the official price. And in some places, it is worse. A 12kg cylinder that used to cost around Rs4,500 is now selling for about Rs7,000 in Balochistan. In Lahore, the price has reached around Rs7,500. In Skardu, it has reached Rs8,200. In the northern and far-off areas, people are paying Rs700 to Rs800 per kg, while the official rate is Rs280 per kg. One member of the National Assembly, Aliya Kamran, raised this in the house and called it a matter of urgent public importance. She was right to do so.

So we have two prices in Pakistan today. One price on paper, Rs3,296. And one price in the bazaar, Rs6,000, Rs7,000, sometimes Rs8,000. The gap between them is the story of this article. And it is a gap that hurts the poorest families most, because they are the ones who cook on LPG every single day.

Why Is the Cylinder So Expensive Right Now?

There is no single reason. There are three, and they all arrived together, just before winter.

First, supply has become tight. Trade at the Iranian border has stopped, and fewer LPG ships are arriving by sea. Pakistan needs around 6,500 to 7,000 tonnes of LPG every single day, and most of it comes from imports. When imports slow down, the price in the bazaar jumps at once. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik has said this himself. The gas is there in the world. It is just not reaching our shops fast enough.

Second, winter is coming, and everyone knows it. In winter, the demand for LPG goes up in every home. Sui gas pressure falls, load-shedding grows longer, and more families turn to cylinders. Traders know this too. When demand rises and supply is short, prices rise. That is simple bazaar logic, and it is happening in every city from Karachi to Gilgit.

Third, and this is the part that makes me angry, some people are hoarding. The Petroleum Division has written to OGRA and said that importers are bringing in LPG in line with demand, but the consignments are not being lifted regularly from the import terminals. In simple words, the gas is arriving, but it is not reaching the shops. That creates an artificial shortage. The government has now ordered a crackdown on hoarding, with federal and provincial authorities told to act together, so that families get gas at the notified price, especially in the far-off and hilly areas. A crackdown is good. But a crackdown after the price has already doubled is a late crackdown. Families have already paid the extra money.

What the Government Is Doing Now

Something important happened on 31 October. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed an eight-member committee to review a proposed set of reforms for the LPG sector. The committee is led by the petroleum minister, and it includes cabinet ministers, advisers and energy officials. It has been given one month to examine the reform package and report back to the Prime Minister.

The reform package itself is big. The Petroleum Division wants the cabinet to approve a plan under which OGRA would stop issuing monthly LPG price notifications from 1 November 2026. Instead, state-owned companies such as Pakistan State Oil, SSGC LPG Limited, PARCO and Pakistan LNG would enter the LPG import market and fix the monthly price themselves, using an import-parity model linked to Saudi Aramco rates and actual import expenses. The margins for LPG marketing and importing firms would also rise, from Rs35,000 to a minimum of Rs50,000 per tonne.

Now, I will be honest with you. I am not an energy expert. I cannot tell you today whether this new system will make cylinders cheaper or more expensive. Nobody can, until the cabinet decides and the first new price is announced. But I can tell you what to watch. Watch whether the new price is close to the old official price, or close to the bazaar price. Watch whether the cylinder in your own street actually becomes cheaper. And watch whether the committee’s report, due in one month, brings real relief or just new words. A committee is not a cylinder. A family cannot cook on a committee.

There is also a promise of a relief policy for vulnerable households, described in the National Assembly. But as of 27 October, no text of that policy had been published. No one has said how much relief, for whom, or how it will reach a family in a village in Thar or a street in Rawalpindi. A promise without details is a hope, not a plan. I will keep watching, and I will tell you when the details appear.

My Own View, Honestly

Let me say what I feel, as a mother and not as an expert. When the price of a cylinder doubles, it is not a small thing. It means a family that cooked three meals a day starts cooking two. It means a mother in a small house in Multan or Quetta stands at the stove and thinks twice before boiling water for tea. It means the poorest families, the ones who already stretch every rupee, pay the most, because they cannot buy a big cylinder in advance and they cannot switch to another fuel.

Bilkul nahi, this is not fair. And it is not fair that the official price says Rs3,296 while the shopkeeper says Rs7,000, and nobody in between answers for the difference. If the government can fix a price on paper, it must also make sure that price reaches the shop. Otherwise the paper price is just ink.

But I also want to be fair. This problem did not start yesterday. LPG prices have always jumped before winter. The Iranian border, the ships, the hoarding, these are real problems, not excuses invented this week. What is new is the size of the gap, and the fact that the government is now changing the whole system of who fixes the price. That change deserves our attention. Not our panic, our attention.

How to Stay Safe With Your Cylinder

While prices are high, please do not cut corners on safety. A cylinder is safe when it is handled with care, and it is dangerous when it is handled carelessly. Here is what every family should remember, in very simple words.

Always buy your cylinder from a licensed dealer, and check the seal before you pay. A broken seal can mean a cylinder that is not full. Keep the cylinder upright, in a place with fresh air, and away from heat and from the stove flame. Never keep a cylinder next to a heater or in direct sunlight. Check the rubber pipe and the regulator from time to time. If the pipe looks cracked or old, change it. If you smell gas, do not light a match and do not switch on any electric button. Open the doors and windows, turn off the regulator, and call your dealer or the gas company at once. To check for a leak, put soapy water on the joints and look for bubbles. Never check a leak with a flame. That is the one mistake that can turn a small leak into a tragedy.

And one more thing. If a shopkeeper charges you far above the official price, keep the receipt if you can, and report it to the district administration or to OGRA. One complaint may not change the whole bazaar. But many complaints together do get heard. Your voice is your right.

Questions Families Keep Asking Me

These are the questions I hear again and again, in simple words, with honest answers from the official notifications and reports I read for this article.

Dear readers, the cylinder in your kitchen is not just a red tank. It is your family’s food, your children’s milk, your evening chai. When its price doubles, your whole house feels it. I will keep watching this story, the committee’s report, the November price, and the relief policy, and I will tell you what actually changes, not just what is promised. Until then, buy from a licensed dealer, keep your cylinder safe, and keep your receipt. And if the shopkeeper in your street is charging double, tell someone. Your voice matters.

Take care of yourselves and your little ones. If you have questions, please ask me through our Contact Us page. I read your messages, and I will try to answer with the same care I would want for my own family. Take care.