Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail has agreed to increase the pumping of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) rates to 150 percent to resolve the crisis of LPG cylinders in many governorates, said Supply and Internal Trade Minister Khaled Hanafy.
Hanafy told Al-Masry Al-Youm the daily report on butane gas during the month of February confirmed that the deficit ratio stood at about 20 percent.
The LPG cylinder crisis continued in governorates around the country on Saturday. In Daqahlia, dozens of residents from Saadia village in Belqas blocked the village's main road, demanding a fixed share of cylinders after failing to get any for more than 15 days.
Dozens of residents from Meet Qorashy village blocked Meet Ghamr- Zagazig Road in protest against the 10-day shortage of cylinders.
Supply Ministry Undersecretary Abdel Rahman al-Sayed said butane gas cylinders will be added to the basic goods distributed on supply cards in Alexandria starting Sunday.
The Alexandria Supply Directorate announced that the daily deficit ratio in cylinders was down to 10 percent from 25 percent last Thursday.
In Minya, people complained that the price of the cylinders reached LE60 on the black market and also complained that factories manipulated the weight of cylinders.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
