Since the adoption of the import parity price (PPI) for cooking gas by Petrobras, the cost of the cylinder for the consumer has already registered, in just under three years, an increase of 64%, or R$ 45 more, in the budget of 98% of Brazilian families, who use fuel for cooking.
According to data from the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), in September 2019, one month after the approval of the state-owned company’s new price policy for cooking gas, the average cost of a 13 kg cylinder was BRL 68.85.
Currently, according to the latest ANP bulletin, released on Friday (6), the average price is R$ 113.11.
Since the adoption of the PPI, the price of LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) has been modified at least 20 times, according to information provided by Petrobras to CNN .
From March 31, 2020 to April this year, there were 17 consecutive increases.
On April 8, the company reduced the value at the refineries, from R$58.21 to R$54.94 for the 13 kg cylinder.
According to the survey of CNN , the price of the gas cylinder started to represent a larger share in the budget of Brazilians. In 2019, the minimum wage in the country was R$998, when the cylinder concentrated 6.8% of salaries in that period.
Now, in 2022, the minimum remuneration is R$ 1,212 and the impact of the item is 9.3% of a salary.
THE CNN Magda Chambriard, energy consultant at Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) and former president of the ANP, explains that Brazil is not self-sufficient in the production and supply of LPG, however, she believes that Petrobras could take measures to subsidize the price of product for the Brazilian consumer and contain the effects of parity.
“Petrobras could, for example, dilute the price of the 13 kg cylinder, which is used in Brazilian cuisine, with other fuels. Petrobras has a social responsibility for being on the part of the State, so it is not an imposition of damage, but a possibility of a state monopoly agent”, he defends.
President Jair Bolsonaro has criticized Petrobras’ import parity pricing policy and believes that the measure is wrong.
In live last Thursday (5), the president also said that the state company “can no longer increase the price of fuel, this is a crime”.
For Pedro Rodrigues, a partner at the Brazilian Infrastructure Center (CBIE), there should be a permanent subsidy for the supply of cooking gas aimed at low-income families and this measure should come from the federal government’s coffers.
“Cooking gas is present in 98% of Brazilian homes. When this product becomes inaccessible, people turn to using hazardous chemical materials for cooking, such as firewood and even fuel. This is a very serious problem. So, one solution would be to take the value of the federal government’s profit from Petrobras or the collection of royalties, and create a permanent program to guarantee supply to the poorest”, he highlights.
According to ANP data, in 2022, Petrobras was responsible for 91.8% of the supply of LPG in Brazil. Petrobras reported that, in the first quarter of this year, it imported about 32% of the cooking gas it offered to the domestic market.
THE CNN contacted Petrobras to comment on the pricing policy adopted in 2019, but there was no response.
Source: CNN Brasil
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