Rising LPG prices push Karachi tea cafes back to coal

Business Recorder reported that tea cafes across Karachi, including those in Gulistan-e-Johar, North Karachi and Federal B Area, have moved back to coal because LPG has become too costly. The newspaper's survey found dozens of outlets making the switch, with owners saying higher fuel costs and tight competition leave little room to pass on increases.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority raised the LPG price for August 2026 by Rs12.89 per kilogram, which took an 11.8kg domestic cylinder up by Rs152.01 to Rs3,000.92 from Rs2,848.91 in July, effective August 1. The consumer price per tonne is now Rs254,315.35, compared with Rs241,432.84 previously.

One cafe owner put a 40-kilogram LPG cylinder at Rs14,000, lasting about five days, against roughly Rs5,000 for an equivalent quantity of coal. Distributors' association chairman Irfan Khokhar, speaking to Business Recorder, blamed black marketing, too few filling stations and the pricing formula introduced in 2018 for the jump, not only the US-Iran conflict.