Subsidies keep cooking gas cheapest in the ECCU
A 20lb cylinder costs EC$30 and a 100lb cylinder EC$140, the lowest prices in the currency union, the Prime Minister says.
BASSETERRE, St Kitts. Government subsidies are keeping cooking gas prices in St Kitts and Nevis the lowest in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew has said.
Speaking at The Roundtable on Thursday, Dr Drew said a 20lb cylinder sells for EC$30 and a 100lb cylinder for EC$140. Both were the lowest in the ECCU in the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank's July 2026 comparison.
The subsidy on the 20lb cylinder alone costs the government about EC$2 million, he said. Because St Kitts and Nevis imports its fuel, the subsidy offsets higher international prices.
"You know why it's $30? Because we are heavily subsidizing it," Dr Drew said.
He said the smaller cylinder matters most to lower-income households, and that support for both sizes will continue.
