Cooking gas price rises 25% in 5 months
THE price of Liquefied Natural Gas, LPG, popularly known as cooking gas has risen by 25 percent between January and May 2022 in many parts of the nation.
A market survey by Energy Vanguard showed that the 12 kilogramme, kg, which price stood at N7, 500 in January has increased to N10, 500 in Lagos, Abuja, and other cities. The development has compelled many households to switch to other options, especially charcoal and kerosene.
In an interview with Energy Vanguard, the National Chairman, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers, LPGAR, branch of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Mr. Michael Umudu, said that the situation was, indeed, worrisome for both retailers and consumers.
He stated that the FOREX allocation from the Nigerian LNG Ltd. to marketers could only meet about 40 per cent of the consumption in the country, adding that prices at the depots have similarly risen to about N12.6 million for 20 metric tonnes, from N11.4 million, which was the average price a few weeks ago.
Umudu said: “The worrisome aspect of this development is that it has continued to rise on daily basis for weeks now but began to escalate in the last few weeks leading to significant increases in both depots and retail outlets. For us as retailers, it is a big problem because we can’t even afford to stock up our shops and even when we do, it will take time before we can make enough sales to get back our investments. What we find now is that people even bring in 12.5kg cylinders but opt to fill them with less than 6kg of gas just to manage at home.”
He said the union expected the government to come up with clear policy direction for the development of LPG in the country to forestall the ugly situation, stressing; “LPG as a clean energy has steadily been embraced by low income earning Nigerians in the last seven years against previous years when it was seen as the preserve of the rich. What we are witnessing now is that demand for LPG is reducing drastically because people can no longer afford the product and are resorting to firewood and kerosene stoves which have health implications.”
