Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 6, 2026 (PMO) — The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis will continue subsidising cooking gas to keep the cost of a 20-pound cylinder at EC$30 and a 100-pound cylinder at EC$140, Prime Minister, the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew, said at The Roundtable on Thursday, November 5. Both prices are currently the lowest in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) as reported by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s July 2026 comparison.
Prime Minister Drew said the government has placed particular emphasis on the 20-pound cylinder because it is the size many lower-income households rely on for daily cooking. He put the subsidy for the smaller cylinder at about EC$2 million.
“You know why it’s $30? Because we are heavily subsidizing it. We are subsidizing it to the tune of about $2 million,” Dr. Drew said.
The subsidy cushions households from higher international fuel costs. St. Kitts and Nevis imports its fuel, and the government absorbs part of the cost to keep a refill affordable.
“We know our diesel is up as well, but we want to make sure that a mother can go and buy a small tank of gas, a family can buy a tall tank of gas, and cook their food,” the Prime Minister said.
Dr. Drew said the government will maintain support for both cylinder sizes as part of its wider effort to ease the cost of household essentials.
