Suggested retail price for LPG pushed

MANILA, Philippines - A lawmaker has called for the implementation of a voluntary suggested retail price (SRP) mechanism for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to help consumers determine a fair price to pay for cooking fuel.

Rep. Arnel Ty of LPGMA party-list said the brand owners themselves should publicly declare or publish at least once a month their SRPs, which can then serve as a benchmark for their retailers and consumers.

“Regrettably, consumers right now have absolutely no sense whether they are paying a fair price for the branded LPG being sold by the nearest retailer, because the brand owner does not provide an SRP,” Ty said.

The SRP is the price that the brand owner or the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) recommends for product retailers.

Ty said he is not asking the DTI to fix the SRP for LPG the way the agency sets prices for other prime commodities, from canned sardines to school supplies.

 “It will be the brand owner’s SRP, not the DTI’s SRP,” he said.

Ty urged the DTI and the Department of Energy (DOE) to find ways to encourage every LPG brand owner to participate in the voluntary SRP mechanism.

He said the DTI and the DOE should get involved so that every brand owner will hopefully cooperate.

“In a deregulated market such as LPG, we have to exhaust all administrative remedies to help consumers discover a fair price to pay for their cooking fuel,” he added.

If consumers find that the retailer’s price is way above the brand owner’s SRP, then the consumer can always look for another retailer selling the LPG at the SRP, or closer to the SRP, he also said.

The Revised Price Law, or Republic Act 10623, classifies LPG and kerosene as “basic necessities.”

The LPG market is now being supplied by Petron Corp. (Gasul, 35.3 percent market share); Liquigaz Philippines Corp. (Liquigaz, 30.4 percent); Isla LPG Corp. (Solane, 14.5 percent); Pryce Gases Inc. (multiple brands, nine percent); Petronas Energy Philippines Inc. (Gas Petronas, 8.7 percent); Total Philippines Corp. (Totalgaz, 1.7 percent); and the rest by smaller players and independent refillers, according to the DOE.