Three weeks ago, Petrobras announced a 5.58% drop in the price of cooking gas (LPG) for distributors. However, so far, according to data from the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), the reduction in the value of the 13Kg cylinder has not reached the Brazilian pocket.
According to the latest price bulletin released by the ANP, the average price of cooking gas was R$ 113.50 in Brazil.
The economist of Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) Alberto Ajzental made a projection that the reduction presented by Petrobras would save from R$ 3 to R$ 6.50 in the consumer’s pocket, in relation to what was being paid in recent months.
But, according to him, the price decrease should not occur due to the competition presented by the industry.
“In theory, the distributor would pass on all the cost drop it had, but in practice, we know that’s not the case. When talking about price rise and fall, the rise will always be almost immediate. To have the drop in value, the retailer wants to see if it can earn a little margin, so it doesn’t drop right away. He looks at the competition first to see if it lowers the cost. This is normal in the market. What drives prices is competition from distributors”, says the economist.
On March 11, Petrobras had announced an increase of around R$8 in the price of cooking gas for distributors, from R$3.86 to R$4.48 per kg, equivalent to R$58, 21 for 13kg.
The following week, the ANP’s price survey found an increase of more than R$10 in the average value of the cylinder in the country. According to data from the agency, in the week of March 6 to 12, the average cost of LPG was R$ 102.41. After the readjustment, in the week of March 13 to 19, it rose to R$ 112.54.
“I don’t believe that all this fall is passed on. For the consumer to feel an improvement in the pocket, it would have to have a dramatic drop, from 15% to 20%. That would make them enter the competition to attract more customers”, evaluates Ajzental.
Since 2019, Petrobras has revised its policy in relation to LPG, bringing into effect the import parity price (PPI), where the value of the fuel is defined by the price of the product on the international market.
In a statement at the time, Petrobras stated that “in the new LPG price policy, readjustments will be carried out without defined periodicity, according to market conditions and the analysis of the internal and external environments”.
THE CNN contacted the National Union of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Distributors (Sindigás) and the entity states that LPG prices are free at all links in the chain and susceptible to market variations.
According to Sindigás, the associated distributors do not report any price increase or decrease to the union and emphasizes that there is no way to make a prediction for the consumer.
In a note, Sindigás recommends that consumers always do a research before making the purchase, in order to seek the best combination of service offer and price, always taking into account their relationship of trust with their brand and preferred reseller.
Source: CNN Brasil
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