The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) wants to import liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to ease the ongoing crisis.

The state-owned entity has sent a letter to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources seeking permission. The letter states that as the entire LPG market is dependent on the private sector, the government’s scope for intervention during a crisis is limited.

BPC chairman Md Amin Ul Ahsan sent the letter to the Secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division on 10 January, seeking approval to import LPG.

The letter notes that in recent times the country’s LPG market has experienced supply shortages and price hikes, with LPG cylinders unavailable at the government-set prices in some areas. If an artificial crisis emerges in the market, the government currently has no immediate tool to stabilise it.

In this context, if policy approval is granted, BPC plans to import LPG on a government-to-government (G2G) basis and quickly supply it to the market through private operators, it added.