The structure of propane-butane consumption in Ukraine has changed, the residents of large cities and the military are biggest consumers now, the Ukrainian Liquefied Gas Association (ULGA) reports.
Due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, the use of liquefied gas, better known as autogas, has significantly increased in the household and utility sector, namely it used cylindered: for cooking and heating premises. This is evidenced by gas sales data from market participants and information provided by the State Customs Service (SCS) of Ukraine regarding the imports of empty cylinders of various capacities in 2021-2022.
Thus, according to the data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, about 190,000 cylinders were imported in 2022, which is six (!) times more than the number in 2021. The most common cylinders imported in 2022 include 5-7 liter cylinders, as well as 25 and 27 liter ones.
According to the statistics, more than half of the annual volume, namely 93.5 thousand units, was imported in November–December. We will remind you that in the fourth quarter of 2022, most regions of Ukraine were suffering from Russian aggression, namely missile attacks on energy infrastructure, which caused blackouts and, as a result, a rapidly growing demand for gas in cylinders.
«During the blackouts, we received a new customer - a resident of a big city, who would buy gas in cylinders for cooking» - Stanislav Batrachenko, general director of ULGA, says.
According to him, the consumption of cylinder gas has remained and is developing in the agricultural, logistics, processing, food, chemical, metallurgical, paper, construction, road and construction sectors, as well as in the production of beverages, glass and other goods.
According to the association, the geography of consumption has changed: de-occupied and front-line regions turned out to become the new territories for cylinder gas consumption, and they are constantly growing. The increase in consumption is due to the temporary lack of electricity and natural gas. It is currently still difficult to estimate the scale of demand for cylinder gas within the territories affected by the terrorist bombing of the Kakhovka HPP.
The military servants are a separate, but extremely important consumer segment, where liquefied gas is a smokeless and mobile source of energy. Soldiers use cylinders for cooking and heating in the field. The most common format is 5-liter containers equipped with burners.
It should be emphasized that unlike its neighboring countries, in particular Poland, there is no difference in the taxation of cylinder gas and autogas in Ukraine, and it is set at €52/1,000 l. According to the colleagues from the Polish Liquefied Gas Association (PLGA), the excise tax rate in Poland is around “0” for utility gas, and about €44 per 1000 l (387 zlotys/ton) for autogas. This is due to the wide range of LPG applications, and it is so important as natural gas and electricity, which, by the way, are not subject to excise taxation and imply benefits for the population.
