The cold spell that has chilled the country over recent weeks has completely wiped out stocks of gas heaters while the demand for gas cylinders rose by an estimated 60 per cent despite the recent price hike.

Never in the 26 years in business did I sell gas heaters so fast

Families who decided to buy one or more gas heaters in a desperate bid to warm up their homes are now forced to turn to the more expensive alternative: an electric heater.

Shops selling gas heaters are telling clients they were out of stock because of the sudden spike in demand.

A number of outlets contacted by The Times yesterday confirmed they had none left and others went one step further to say that even agents’ stock had run out.

Homemate manager Michel Micallef said their massive store had sold out and agents were not able to replenish the stock because they too had run out of gas heaters.

Sales assistants at other shops, including Crosscraft and Home Trends, also reported running out of gas heaters.

Two agents confirmed they had sold all gas heaters in stock. Brian Pullicino, owner of Firm B. Pullicino, said his stock had been depleted late last year and ordered a container-load in December. When the consignment arrived, with nearly 550 units, they were sold in under three days, with shops constantly calling for more.“Never in the 26 years in business did I sell gas heaters so fast... The demand skyrocketed in such a short period of time,” he said when contacted.

Gas heaters usually sell until January but, rather than slowing down, the demand this year continued to rise. It was too late to order more for this winter, Mr Pullicino explained, because they would take a while to arrive. He said consumers were so desperate that even shop-soiled gas heaters, with scratches, dents or even some rust were sold.

Mr Pullicino said even gas regulators, which he also imports, were out of stock. The recent recall of “defective” regulators fuelled the demand, with consumers seeking to replace theirs.

Joe Attard, a director at the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU, which represents gas distributors, said there had been an estimated 60 per cent increase in demand for gas cylinders. This notwithstanding the price hike, up from €16.50 to €18.

Mr Attard said the sudden increase in demand forced the gas bottling plant to work an extra six hours, until 9 p.m. every day, including on weekends. Moreover, both gas suppliers and the distributors collaborated to ensure gas reached consumers in a timely fashion.

He said a gas consignment arrived in Malta on Wednesday, avoiding a gas shortage problem that would have crippled the country, which is facing one of the coldest winters in decades.

The Meteorological Office said that the temperature in the first two weeks of this month was 2.7°C lower than the average for the month.

St Valentine’s Day on Tuesday was the coldest day of the month so far, at 3.6°C. The mean temperature so far this month was 9.6°C, compared to the 12.3°C average. The Met Office said the temperature was expected to get warmer over the next few days.