Coastal advantage for LPG is tiny just R13.50 across South Africa, DMPR shows

South Africans living near ports pay almost the same for a 9kg LPG bottle as those hundreds of kilometres inland, according to the government pricing schedule and local retail competition can cause much larger differences than geography.

What the official pricing shows

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) publishes a maximum retail price for residential LPG sold in zonal bands. Effective from 3 June 2026, the DMPR lists a maximum retail price of R365.85 for a 9kg cylinder in Zone 1A, which includes Cape Town and Durban. By contrast, Johannesburg’s Zone 9B is set at R378, and Bloemfontein’s Zone 8B is R379.35.

That means the regulated difference between some of the cheapest and most expensive zones for a standard 9kg bottle is R13.50.

Why the gap is so small

Although much of South Africa’s LPG arrives through coastal import terminals and then travels by road or rail to inland areas, the DMPR’s zonal pricing explicitly builds transport costs into its structure. This built-in transport component reduces the expected price disparity between coastal and inland consumers.

Retailers the bigger driver of price variation

According to IOL, shopping around can produce differences of more than R30 between retailers selling exactly the same amount of gas. IOL’s survey of retail prices found a range across major centres: R339 in Durban to about R375 in Cape Town.

• In Cape Town, retailers were advertising 9kg exchanges for between R350 and R375, IOL reports.
• Durban prices were lower, with one supplier advertising a refill at R339, according to IOL.
• In Johannesburg and Pretoria, prices clustered around R365 to R369, IOL found.
• A supplier in Mbombela was advertising a 9kg refill for about R345, IOL reports.

Bottom line for consumers

The official zonal pricing means proximity to a port adds only a small regulated premium or discount R13.50 across the most extreme zonal examples for a 9kg bottle. By contrast, where consumers stand to save more is by comparing offers from different retailers in their area.