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Household liquefied petroleum gas prices are proposed to rise from 2,000 soums to 5,000 soums per kilogram starting November 1, 2026, under a plan to introduce market mechanisms into a sector long held at heavily subsidised rates. The increase, reported by Qalampir, would be accompanied by a targeted compensation scheme worth 158 billion soums designed to keep effective costs unchanged for the country’s most vulnerable consumers.
The proposed reform stops short of a full transition to market pricing. Under the plan, the gap between the 5,000 soum consumer rate and the actual exchange-traded purchase price paid by LPG-Trade LLC — plus justified delivery costs — would continue to be covered by the state budget. The government’s role would therefore shift from setting a single below-cost price to subsidising the difference between a higher regulated rate and the real cost of supply.
Compensation Mechanism for Registered Households
Families listed on the Social Protection Register would receive a compensation payment of 3,000 soums for every kilogram of liquefied gas consumed, up to a monthly allowance of 20 kilograms. This would keep their effective out-of-pocket cost at the current 2,000 soums per kilogram. The scheme is projected to cover 220,000 subscriber households, with a total budget allocation of 158 billion soums earmarked for the purpose.
The compensation design reflects a broader policy shift away from universal price controls toward means-tested support. Rather than holding the price low for all consumers, the state would concentrate its subsidy on those formally identified as needing assistance, while general consumers pay a rate closer to — though still below — the market price.
Supply Shortages Driving the Reform
The reform is presented as a response to persistent supply failures. The current 2,000 soum price, while affordable on paper, has not guaranteed reliable access: in some regions, the interval between deliveries of liquefied gas cylinders has stretched to 50–70 days or more. Households unable to wait have been forced to purchase gas on the open market at significantly higher prices, meaning their actual spending already exceeds the official rate.
Total liquefied gas resources available in the country are expected to grow substantially — from 906,000 tonnes in 2023 to a projected 1.52 million tonnes by 2026. However, the composition of that supply is changing sharply. Domestic production is forecast to fall from 883,000 tonnes to 803,000 tonnes over the same period, while imports are set to surge from just 19,000 tonnes to 713,000 tonnes. In the first nine months of 2026 alone, 539,000 tonnes were imported.
Demand pressures are compounding the supply challenge. The number of propane-powered vehicles registered in the country reached 716,000 as of September 1, 2026 — a 35 percent increase compared to November 2024 — adding a fast-growing non-residential source of consumption to an already strained distribution system.
Private Operators and the Andijan Pilot
The pricing reform is part of a wider plan to open the liquefied gas market to private operators. A pilot programme in Andijan region allows private entrepreneurs to import gas and sell it to residents at freely set prices, providing a test of whether competitive supply can improve availability without state-managed distribution. The pilot is described as being under way from October 1, 2026.
Looking further ahead, the plan envisages making 5-kilogram and 10-kilogram cylinders available through retail outlets including shops and supermarkets, and establishing home delivery services run by private operators. These steps would represent a significant departure from the current model, in which state-linked entities dominate both procurement and last-mile distribution.
The reform package has not yet been formally adopted, and the evidence describes the measures as proposals under consideration. No official government response or parliamentary timeline has been published alongside the plan. The scale of the import dependency now built into supply projections — with imports accounting for nearly half of total resources by 2026 — underscores the urgency that officials cite as justification for moving away from a pricing structure that has long discouraged investment in distribution infrastructure.