Cooking gas price soars to N500/kg, retailers, consumers lament
The price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, has skyrocketed to a record high of N500 per kilogramme, forcing some Nigerians to turn to alternatives such as charcoal, kerosene and firewood amid high unemployment and poverty levels in the country.
The price of cooking gas has risen by more than 60 per cent since early December last year on the back of the recent devaluation of the naira and lingering inadequate domestic supply of the fuel.
Our correspondent gathered that as cooking gas prices maintained an upward trend in recent months, more Nigerians, especially in the rural and semi-urban areas, have been discouraged from using the fuel for cooking.
It was also learnt that some Nigerians who do not have prepaid electric meters are now increasingly using electric cookers in a bid to reduce their cooking gas usage.
It was reported on January 21 that the price of 20 metric tonnes of LPG sold to marketers in the country had risen by over 29 per cent in the past two months to as high as N5.5m from N4.25m on November 20.
The price of 20MT of LPG sold by terminal operators and importers surged by 30.91 per cent in six months to N7.2m on Thursday, according to LPG in Nigeria, an advocacy organisation championing the use of the fuel in the country.
A gas plant in Lagos refilled a 12.5kg cylinder for LPG for N5,200 on July 17, up from N4,400 on June 17 and N3,200 in November/December 2020.
Our correspondent observed on Thursday that several retailers in Lagos fixed the price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder at between N5,200 and N5,600, up from N4,000 and N4,500 in December. A retailer at Ogba refilled 3kg and 5kg cylinders for N1,500 and N2,500 respectively, translating to N500 per kg.
The National Chairman of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Branch of NUPENG, Mr Chika Umudu, attributed the price hike to the country’s high dependence on importation for LPG.
“As the dollar is appreciating against the naira, the price of LPG is increasing,” he added.
In May, the Central Bank of Nigeria devalued the naira as it adopted the NAFEX exchange rate of N410.25 per dollar as its official exchange rate. The naira traded at 503/$1 at the parallel market on Thursday.
Umudu suggested that the Nigerian LNG Limited, which accounts for more than 40 per cent of the LPG supply volumes in the country, should be supplying the domestic market in accordance to the demand, rather than having a fixed quantity per annum.
He said, “The increase in cooking gas price, which started last December, doesn’t speak well of the policy direction of the government
“As much as I will not advocate for subsidy the way it is being done with petrol, I think there are ways the government could make cooking gas affordable to Nigerians.
