An economic observatory announced the stabilization of cooking gas cylinder markets and full coverage of daily demand, despite the continuation of smuggling operations and the revival of illegal trade, particularly by owners of unregulated restaurants affected by gas distribution regulation measures.
The observatory reported in an official report that daily production of liquefied petroleum gas allocated for cylinder filling amounts to approximately 5,733 tons, against a daily consumption reaching 4,400 tons, confirming the preparation of about 5,200 cylinders for daily use.
The report explained that gas receipt regulation measures revealed a large number of unregulated, unregistered, and unlicensed restaurants that resort to the parallel market to secure their needs, in addition to the continued smuggling of gas to the Kurdistan Region.
The observatory noted that the price of a gas cylinder in the parallel market within the region reaches 22,000 dinars, compared to the official price of approximately 5,000 dinars in the remaining governorates.
The observatory called on relevant authorities to tighten supervision over private factories to curb speculation and regulate filling and distribution operations to ensure fairness in meeting demand.
It is worth noting that the capital and governorates recently witnessed a gas crisis resulting from a shortage in supply due to declining associated oil production, while Iraq recorded for the first time production levels that enabled coverage of local gas demand in 2022.
