Govt loses Tk89 per litre on diesel sales, adviser says.
The government is incurring a loss of nearly Tk 89 per litre on diesel sales, resulting in an accumulated loss of about Tk 109 crore a day, Prime Minister's Information and Broadcasting Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman said today.
"If the situation continues, the government will have to bear an annual loss of nearly Tk 40,000 crore from diesel sales alone," he said while presenting a written speech at a weekly government briefing at the Press Information Department (PID) conference room in the Secretariat.
He attributed the losses to the sharp rise in international fuel prices, compounded by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Zahed said the government had kept fuel prices unchanged from March to August despite the global price surge, absorbing losses of around Tk 22,875 crore during the period. The prices were later revised to contain the losses, reduce pressure on foreign currency reserves and curb the risk of fuel smuggling to neighbouring countries.
Under the revised rates, diesel now costs Tk 135 per litre, up from Tk 115; petrol Tk 160, up from Tk 140; octane Tk 165, up from Tk 145 and kerosene Tk 155, up from Tk 135.
The adviser said the revised diesel price was still broadly comparable with prices in neighbouring countries.
Diesel is currently priced at Tk 134.76 per litre in Kolkata, Tk 164.83 in Myanmar, Tk 161.24 in Nepal, Tk 179.42 in Sri Lanka, Tk 151.22 in Thailand and Tk 185.48 in Pakistan, according to the figures he cited.
The Tk 20 increase in fuel prices is expected to reduce Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation's annual losses by nearly Tk 10,000 crore, he said.
Zahed said the government plans to drill 150 wells across the country by 2030 to reduce dependence on imported energy.
As part of the initiative, 12.5 million cubic feet (MMcf) of gas has already been added to the national grid following the inauguration of the Titas-28 well in Brahmanbaria on September 19.
He said gas production from wells under the Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited is expected to reach 235 million cubic feet per day by 2035, helping increase supplies to industry and the power sector.
To cushion the impact of higher fuel prices on ordinary people, the government has introduced several social safety-net measures, the adviser said.
From October, the government will distribute Family Cards to around 41 lakh families, with benefits to be transferred directly to recipients through bKash, Nagad or bank accounts under the government-to-person (G2P) system. The programme is expected to cover 1.61 crore families by 2029-30.
Under the Food Friendly Programme, 55 lakh families are receiving 30 kg of rice per month at Tk 15 per kg. Vitamin-enriched rice is also being distributed in 300 upazilas.
Zahed said the government has fixed the 2027 Hajj airfare at Tk 1.30 lakh per pilgrim, Tk 24,830 lower than the previous rate. The airfare was Tk 1.97 lakh in 2023.
He also said 2,56,074 religious leaders including imams, muezzins, khadims, priests and Buddhist monks from 86,709 religious institutions have been brought under an honorarium programme, with Tk 1,100 crore allocated for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
PID Principal Information Officer Syed Abdal Ahmad and Information and Broadcasting Ministry Joint Secretary Dr M Alam Mostafa attended the briefing.
