The industry is cheering the cut in 19 kg LPG commercial cylinder rates. The prices for the 19 kg LPG commercial cylinders have been cut by Rs 183.50 on Wednesday. The cut in rates will be a big boost for restaurants, hotels and even manufacturing units as it will ease the pressures of the high operating costs that these sectors were dealing with.
Tanveer Kwatra, Founder of GRAMMIE told Timesnownews.com, "the cut in commercial LPG prices is a welcome relief for the restaurant industry, which has been dealing with high kitchen fuel costs for several months now. We work in an extremely price sensitive business, and unlike a lot of other sectors we have very little room to pass higher input costs on to customers without hurting demand. This cut will ease some of the pressure on our operating costs and give the sector some much needed breathing room. We hope it marks the start of a steady run of stable or softer commercial LPG prices. If that holds, it will go a long way in keeping food inflation in check and letting restaurants hold menu prices steady while still investing in quality and the guest experience. Predictable energy costs are essential if the hospitality sector is to plan properly and grow in a sustainable way."
Economists believe this reduction in prices is on back of the slide in global crude oil prices since tensions in West Asia have eased and this will offer a big relief to hotels, restaurants and other commercial users. Suraj Mehta, Chief Strategy Officer at Hindusthan National Glass & Industries Limited told Timesnownews.com, "the cut in commercial LPG prices is a welcome and much needed relief for energy intensive industries like glass. Over the past few months we have had to absorb high fuel costs and uncertain supply on account of the West Asia crisis, and that has weighed heavily on our operations and our cost structure. This correction should help our operating economics and take some pressure off margins, though it only partly makes up for how sharply energy costs rose through the crisis. Given how steep those earlier increases were, we see this as the start of prices settling down rather than a full reversal. For a continuous process industry like ours, steadier commercial LPG pricing and fuel we can rely on matter just as much as the price itself, because energy security is as important to us as energy cost. A stable operating environment also supports the wider packaging chain that serves sectors such as beverages, pharmaceuticals and FMCG."