Why refrigerant prices move
Duty
Customs duty and, where it applies, anti-dumping duty land directly on the cost of imported material. The clearest recent example is the definitive five-year anti-dumping duty on R-134a originating in or exported from China, in force from 24 December 2025.
Anti-dumping duty attaches to a specific tariff line and origin, so it moves one product without touching the others. That is why R-134a can rise while R-32 does not. See the anti-dumping guide.
Quota
This is the one most buyers have never heard of, and over the next decade it is the most important.
Under the Kigali Amendment, India's HFC consumption is capped in CO₂-equivalent from 2028, stepping down to 15% of baseline by 2047. Because the cap is measured by climate impact rather than tonnage, a kilogram of a high-GWP gas consumes more of the allowance than a kilogram of a low-GWP one.
R-404A, at a GWP near 3,922, consumes roughly three times the quota of R-448A per kilogram. Nothing is banned. The high-GWP fluids simply get outbid for a limited allowance, and that reaches the buyer as price. See the price impact guide.
R-22 works differently and more sharply: its supply is capped by the HCFC phase-out schedule directly, with the servicing allowance falling to 2.5% of baseline by 2030 while a large installed base still needs servicing.
Exchange rate
Refrigerant is priced internationally in dollars, and much of the material or its feedstock is imported. A rupee that weakens against the dollar raises landed cost regardless of what is happening in the refrigerant market itself.
Season
Indian refrigerant demand is strongly seasonal. It concentrates before and during summer, when the installed base is running hardest and service calls peak. Availability tightens exactly when demand is highest, which is when most buyers happen to be asking.
The practical consequence for a contractor or plant is that a March enquiry and a November enquiry are not the same conversation. If you can plan a recharge, planning it out of season is worth something.
Cylinder size
The same gas costs differently per kilogram depending on the format, because the cylinder, filling, handling and freight are largely fixed costs spread across the contents. Small cans are the extreme case, which is why they are convenient rather than economical.
Why we will not publish a rate
Any number we printed here would be wrong within a few weeks, and a stale price is worse than no price because someone will plan around it.
So we quote against current stock when you ask. Message us with the gas, the quantity and the destination and you get a live figure rather than a number from a page nobody updated. See how to order.
Quick answers
Why does refrigerant price change so often?
It responds to import duty, Kigali quota allocation, the exchange rate, seasonal demand and cylinder format. Several of those move independently of each other.
Why has R-134a specifically become dearer?
A definitive five-year anti-dumping duty on R-134a from China took effect on 24 December 2025, which raises the landed cost of imported material.
Will refrigerant get more expensive?
For high-GWP fluids such as R-404A, the Kigali quota mechanism points that way, because quota is allocated by CO2-equivalent. Lower-GWP fluids are less exposed.
Why do you not publish prices on the website?
Because a published rate would be stale within weeks and someone would plan around it. We quote against current stock when you enquire.
- Directorate General of Trade Remedies · anti-dumping findings on R-134a from China · dgtr.gov.in.
- UNEP Ozone Secretariat · Kigali Amendment CO2-equivalent phase-down schedules · ozone.unep.org.
- Ozone Cell, MoEFCC · HCFC phase-out management plan and servicing allowance · ozonecell.nic.in.
This guide is general information compiled from the cited sources — not legal, safety or engineering advice. Read our full disclaimer.
Related: Will the phase-down raise prices? · Anti-dumping duty on R-134a · How to order · GWP table