Some governorates have seen a shortage of butane cylinders, with prices rising to 350 and 400 Egyptian pounds ($6.75 and $7.70) for a household cylinder, versus the official price of 275 Egyptian pounds ($5.30), according to a trade source and residents. The assistant minister of supply for petroleum products, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, denied the ministry was responsible, blaming the problem on “an increase in the number of sales intermediaries.”
Last week, the Ministry of Petroleum raised the price of a 25-kilogram butane cylinder by 100 pounds ($1.90) to 550 pounds ($10.60). A 12.5-kilogram household cylinder went up by 50 pounds ($0.96) to 275 pounds ($5.30). But residents said prices had climbed as high as 400 pounds ($7.70).
Mohamed Gamal, who lives in a village in Assiut governorate, said in a Facebook post two days ago that the cylinder crisis “has become a burden on families, especially in areas not served by natural gas.” That was echoed by Hossam Sheta, from the same area, who said the price of a cylinder on the black market had reached 350 pounds ($6.75).
In Giza, Mostafa Yasser, who owns a restaurant in the Faisal area, told Al Manassa the shortage appeared to be a manufactured crisis aimed at pushing prices higher. He said he had been forced to buy a commercial cylinder for 700 pounds ($13.50) to keep his restaurant running after days of stalling by sellers and the product’s unavailability at the official price.
A member of the Petroleum Materials Division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce told Al Manassa, on condition of anonymity, that the latest price increase had prompted some traders to hide cylinders at depots and resell them through middlemen, lengthening the supply chain and driving up prices amid what he described as weak oversight.
He added that the Ministry of Supply could end the crisis quickly by increasing supply and tightening oversight of depots and distributors at the Egyptian Company for Transporting and Delivering Gas, or Butagasco, as well as monitoring depots and traders.
Aboul Gheit said gas supplies were available in sufficient quantities to meet rising demand during the last 10 days of Ramadan and the run-up to Eid Al-Fitr, to cover any shortfall and prevent excessive price increases.
The official depot price for a cylinder is 275 pounds ($5.30), he said, and any prices above the official rate are the result of some traders outside the formal system adding extra layers to the sales chain.
He said distribution is carried out directly from depots and from vehicles operated by Butagasco and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation to ensure the product reaches citizens at the official price.
He added that the government had released additional quantities in high-demand areas such as Upper Egypt governorates, increasing supply by 15% above normal rates to meet the needs of families that use large amounts of gas to prepare sweets and baked goods during Eid Al-Fitr.
During the first half of this month, the government supplied 13.7 million cylinders to the household sector and 1.1 million to the commercial sector, he said, adding that the ministry is continuously combating the black market to ensure price stability.
Butagasco is responsible for supplying, transporting and installing butane cylinders, as well as setting up new cylinder distribution centers in governorates and training distribution agents in the safe transport and delivery of cylinders from sales centers to homes and commercial shops. It has more than 185 depots across 21 governorates, a number of factories, and a transport fleet of about 440 distribution trucks and trailers.
