Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices have surged in Pakistan since October 17, when two Iranian border crossings closed and halted imports, squeezing rickshaw drivers and households that depend on the fuel. Traders say the price of a 12-kilogram cylinder jumped 56 percent within days to Rs7,000, or about Rs583 per kilogram in the open market.
Before the closures, Pakistan imported about 7,000 metric tons of LPG a day from Iran, according to the Pakistan LPG Association. The Awami Rickshaw Union says about 70 percent of its 43,000 auto-rickshaws and nearly 8,000 Qingqis run on LPG, which members call the fuel of the poor.
One Lahore driver, Rashid Ali, who has driven a rickshaw for 13 years, said he used to earn about $6.50 a day but now makes less than half that, and his family has cut back to two meals a day. The squeeze comes as inflation stood at 9.6 percent in October and petrol remains far above its pre-war level, leaving low-income commuters and drivers with little room to absorb another fuel shock.
Sources: Reuters, Pakistan LPG Association. Written in our own words for information only.