Charcoal demand climbs as LPG prices double

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

April 19, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Raida Gante now starts selling barbecue earlier than usual, setting up her grill by 9:30 a.m. or 10 a.m. in a narrow alley at Aling Clara’s Wet and Dry Market in Baclaran, Parañaque.

Despite rising charcoal costs, Gante keeps her barbecue at P17 per stick.

“Instead of hiking prices, I just lessened the meat per stick since people don’t want this to be expensive,” she told The STAR in Filipino.

Her earnings have dropped significantly, with daily income now at about half of the P1,000 she used to make before the Middle East conflict disrupted energy supplies and drove up fuel-dependent costs.

Previously, Gante spent P150 on charcoal per day. Now, she shells out P200 as suppliers reduce the volume per bag. To cope, she has cut her meat purchases from three kilograms to two and added other items like packed rice and viands, including sautéed string beans (sitaw).

Demand for traditional cooking fuels has climbed as the price of an 11-kilogram liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder doubled from around P800 to P1,600.

“For the last 40 days, we have experienced LPG consumption reduced by 30 percent compared to the same period last year because many of our users shifted to charcoal and firewood, especially in the provinces,” said Arnel Ty, president of Regasco and founder of the LPG Marketers Association Inc., during a recent hearing of the House committee on legislative energy action and development.

Ty noted that about half of Philippine households still rely on charcoal and firewood, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao.

He added that LPG demand typically declines by around 15 percent during the summer, though recent price spikes have accelerated the shift to alternative fuels.

LPG prices are influenced by contract rates set by Saudi state-run oil firm Aramco and by shipping costs.

Aramco raised its contract price by $243, while freight charges climbed by 30 percent after insurers withdrew coverage for vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

At a public market in Pasay, charcoal vendor Liza Aldave said her customer base has expanded to include not just food vendors but also households.

She increased the price of a sack of charcoal from P450 to P500 due to higher transport costs from Pangasinan but kept smaller retail packs priced between P10 and P50.

“Our prices are as they are because many consumers will complain if we raise them,” Aldave told The STAR in Filipino. “What we just did was lessen the amount of charcoal per bag during repacking.”

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported a surge in charcoal and firewood use, particularly in rural Asia, driven by rising LPG prices.

“It undermines longer-term objectives to extend universal access to clean cooking,” the IEA said in its report “Sheltering from Oil Shocks.”

The agency has long discouraged reliance on charcoal and firewood due to environmental and health risks.

“The demand for firewood and charcoal results in the loss of forests the size of Ireland each year,” the IEA said in “A Vision for Clean Cooking Access for All.”

It added that such fuels “generate high levels of pollution in the home, with poor air quality and a lack of proper ventilation resulting in toxic smoke inhalation in enclosed spaces.”