India’s consumption of cooking gas LPG fell sharply by nearly 13 per cent in March as supply disruptions linked to the West Asia conflict hit availability for households and commercial users, official data showed.
According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell under the Oil Ministry, LPG consumption stood at 2.379 million tonne in March, down 12.8 per cent from 2.729 million tonne in the same period last year.
India imports about 60 per cent of its LPG requirement, much of it routed through the Strait of Hormuz. Supplies were disrupted after tensions escalated following US and Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliatory action by Tehran, impacting shipments from key suppliers such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Faced with constrained supplies, the government curtailed LPG allocation to commercial establishments such as hotels and industrial users in order to safeguard household consumption.
Data showed that LPG supplied to domestic households declined 8.1 per cent to 2.219 million tonne in March. Supplies to non-domestic users dropped sharply by nearly 48 per cent, while bulk LPG sales plunged by 75.5 per cent.
The figures come despite official assertions that domestic LPG demand was being fully met, indicating stress in supply management during the period.
Also read: Over 17.25 lakh 5-kg LPG cylinders sold since March 23: Govt
To bridge the shortfall, the government asked refineries to divert feedstock from petrochemical production to increase LPG output. As a result, domestic LPG production rose to 1.4 million tonne in March, compared with 1.1 million tonne a year earlier.
For the full 2025-26 financial year, LPG production increased to 13.1 million tonne from 12.8 million tonne in the previous two years. Overall LPG consumption for the fiscal rose 6 per cent to 33.212 million tonne, suggesting that the March decline was an exception driven by geopolitical factors.
The conflict also affected aviation fuel demand. With airspace closures and flight disruptions across parts of the Gulf, jet fuel consumption remained largely flat at 807,000 tonne in March, compared to 801,000 tonne a year ago.
In contrast, transport fuels recorded strong growth. Petrol consumption rose 7.6 per cent to 3.78 million tonne, while diesel demand increased 8.1 per cent to 8.727 million tonne during the month.
For the full fiscal, petrol consumption grew 6.5 per cent to 42.586 million tonne and diesel rose 3.6 per cent to 94.705 million tonne, reflecting steady economic activity.
Among other fuels, naphtha consumption declined 9.9 per cent and fuel oil fell 1.4 per cent, while bitumen demand rose 3 per cent to 8.84 million tonne, driven by road construction activity.
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