Consumers Face Cooking Gas Shortages and Soaring Prices Amid World Consumer Rights Day

Kathmandu. March 15 marks World Consumer Rights Day. As the day is observed globally under the theme 'Safe Products, Prudent Consumers, and Responsible Administration,' consumers in Nepal are struggling to even light their stoves due to an artificial shortage of cooking gas. Compounding this issue is the burden of unusually high prices for edible oil and rice.

Traders are citing international market issues stemming from escalating conflicts in West Asia to justify price hikes and create artificial shortages. Regulatory bodies are failing to control the growing black market, with consumer rights activists complaining that only superficial monitoring is taking place.

Edible Oil Prices Skyrocket Using Conflict as an Excuse

In the last month, the price of edible oil has increased by NPR 20 to NPR 50 per liter. Edible oil, which cost between NPR 250 to NPR 275 per liter at the end of Magh, has unnaturally risen above NPR 290 by the end of Falgun.

Bibhor Agrawal, a committee member of the Nepal Rice, Oil, and Pulse Industries Association, pointed to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the rise in the dollar value in the international market, and disruptions in transportation routes as the main reasons for the price increase. He stated that large ships carrying crude oil from countries like Argentina and Indonesia are being held up en route, causing shipping costs to surge dramatically. This has pushed the international market price for crude palm, soybean, and sunflower oil to around $900 to $1,050 per ton.

However, the state-owned Nepal Food Corporation is currently selling oil at prices cheaper than the market rate. Soybean oil is available for NPR 240 per liter, sunflower oil for NPR 275, and mustard oil for NPR 255 to NPR 360. This indicates that the price hike in the private sector is unnatural.

Artificial Shortage and Black Market for Gas

The problem with LPG gas has become even more acute. It is unavailable even if one is willing to pay a higher price. Unable to meet public demand, the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has directed industries to sell half cylinders (7.1 kg) of gas. The NOC has urged consumers not to hoard unnecessarily and avoid risks.

While the NOC claims there is no problem with gas supply, the shortage persists in the market. Furthermore, sellers have started charging inflated prices. Some retailers are selling a cylinder for NPR 2,100 to NPR 2,500, whereas the price set by the NOC is only NPR 1,910. The NOC has set the price for a half cylinder at NPR 955.

Despite the NOC stating that approximately 43,500 metric tons of gas were imported in Falgun, and 1,500 to 2,000 metric tons are arriving regularly daily, the inability to meet demand has led to the arrangement for selling half cylinders. Currently, 7.1 kg cylinders are being distributed, and consumers are forced to queue all day to purchase them.

Government Inaction Amidst Middlemen Manipulation

Consumer rights activist Bishnu Prasad Timilsina claims the gas shortage in the market is not natural but 'artificial.' He alleged that this shortage is merely a 'cylinder selling campaign' by gas industrialists and middlemen, designed to panic consumers into buying multiple cylinders. "There is no reason for a gas shortage in Nepal; the supply system is smooth, and there are no issues with the agreement with India," he said. "This shortage is simply a campaign by gas industrialists to sell cylinders. Consumers who own one cylinder are being panicked into buying four or five."

He further alleged that industrialists, fearing a decline in gas business once the use of electric energy and induction stoves increases, have adopted a strategy to aggressively sell cylinders now and hand over the business to the government later.

Timilsina stated, "There is widespread fraud in the weight and quality of gas as well. In the name of a half cylinder, consumers are not even getting 5 kg of gas. Consumers are being cheated with sediment and sludge filled inside the cylinders. Despite such irregularities, the government lacks any effective mechanism for monitoring."

He urged consumers to seek alternatives to gas and suggested that the government should cut the subsidy provided for gas and offer incentives for electric stoves (induction). Regarding the price hike in edible oil and Basmati rice in the market, he pointed to the failure of government policies. He argued that consumers are suffering because Nepali-grown Basmati rice is being exported while the same rice is being imported packed at high prices. He noted that the government has done no groundwork to protect and regulate its own production.

Timilsina accused the current government, which came to power on the slogan of good governance, of being trapped in the clutches of middlemen. "The government that advocates for good governance appears to be caught in the grip of middlemen," he said. "It is not enough to organize programs on Consumer Day; the government must be responsible for ending the irregularities seen in the market and providing real relief to consumers."

Following complaints about uncontrolled price hikes of consumer goods and increased black marketing of gas, the Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has intensified monitoring. The department's director, Narharin Tiwari, stated that charging more than the government-set price for gas is illegal.

Tiwari warned that the department is sending monitoring teams to stop the unnatural price surge in the market and will take action if evidence is found. "Although prices are determined based on the balance of market demand and supply, we will not let those who create artificial shortages or cartelize to raise prices go unpunished. We will proceed with legal action within the legal framework," Tiwari said.