In a joint statement, the two departments stress that, given the current situation and to avoid disturbances in the supply of the national market with gas cylinders and preserve the safety of citizens, all local stakeholders, production companies, distribution, as well as retailers were asked to stick to the rule of selling full gas cylinders only in numbers equivalent to the empty ones presented by the customer, and to return the latter to the filling chain.

The two ministries therefore call for compliance with the rule of selling only one gas cylinder per customer at each supply stage, to use appropriate means of transport to ensure the regular supply of this vital product, to extend working hours in filling centers to meet national needs, as well as intensify visits by monitoring commissions to identify overruns and take legal action against violators, the statement added.

In the light of the exceptional situation linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, the concerns of certain families and farmers in terms of availability of basic products on the national market, in particular butane gas cylinders, have generated an unjustified craze for this product, which could cause a dysfunction of the retail market in some regions of the Kingdom, the source said.

The two ministries note that some people sell full cylinders without receiving empty ones, while others resort to building a personal stock which disrupts the production and acquisition chain of this basic product, in addition to the security risks linked to storage of gas cylinders by families.