Demand for cooking gas fell 10.9% in July, worst consumption in 11 years

Demand for cooking gas fell 10.9% in July, worst consumption in 11 years

Data released this month by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) this Wednesday (30) show that July had the lowest consumption of cooking gas in the last 11 years, even surpassing the drop registered in the first half, when a 4.5% drop in demand had already been registered, informed the Social Observatory of Petroleum (OSP).

According to the survey updated by the ANP until July 2022, the drop in the sale of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) was 10.9% compared to the same month of 2021.

The southern region of the country was the most impacted, with a 15.9% decline in gas cylinder sales in July.

“This is the second consecutive year of reduction in LPG consumption for the month of July. Last year, sales had already fallen by 3.5% compared to 2020. ANP figures also indicate that the first seven months of this year recorded the worst performance in the gas cylinder trade since 2015”, reported the OSP.

“Cooking gas was one of the biggest difficulties for Brazilian families this year. The record prices of cylinders, together with the stagnant income of the population, reduced the consumption of this fuel, so essential. And not even the Auxílio Gás dos Brasileiros Program was enough to hold back this drop”, analyzes economist Eric Gil Dantas, from OSP and the Brazilian Institute of Political and Social Studies (Ibeps).

The reduction in the consumption of cooking gas led to the growth in the use of firewood in the country. According to a study by the Energy Research Company (EPE), since 2018 firewood is the second source of energy consumption in homes in Brazil, second only to electricity. The gas cylinder is the third source of residential consumption.

Source: CNN Brasil