Nigerians Lament as Cooking Gas Dealers Quote New Prices, Give Reasons
- The price of cooking gas has risen by 70%, forcing Nigerians to pay significantly more for their cooking needs
- The rise in the price of the product has led to many reverting to charcoal and firewood for cooking
- Recent data shows that the 12.5kg cylinder refill, which sold for N14,500 in July, now sells for N19,000
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
Many Nigerians have been disillusioned by the sudden spike in the price of liquified natural gas (LGP), otherwise known as cooking gas.
The commodity’s price has hit 70%, leaving many Nigerians disappointed and reverting to primitive cooking methods.
Source: Getty Images
Nigerians vent frustrations over price increase
Experts have advocated LPG as a cleaner alternative to cooking. Still, the recent hike in the price of the commodity has caused many to abandon cooking gas for cheaper methods such as charcoal and firewood.
Recent data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the 12.5kg refill price increased by 69.15% to N15,552.56 in August, from N9.194 in the same period in July.
An X user, Abiodun Adeleke, said the price jump feels like a stab, considering Nigerians' hardships.
He said:
“12.5kg cooking gas is now N19,000. Just months ago, it was N9,000. That’s a 100 per cent hike in less than a year. How are people surviving this economy?”
Also, small businesses are feeling the heat of the increase, especially caterers and food vendors who rely on the commodity for their operations.
Gas dealers disclose reasons for price increases.
Despite removing value-added tax (VAT) from the commodity in October last year, the prices have continued to soar.
BusinessDay reports that forex volatility has caused a spike in the LNG price as importers find it hard to access funds for the product’s import.
The president of the Nigerian Association of Liquified Petroleum Gas Marketers, Olatubosun Oladapo, said rising prices, high taxes and vessel prices, forex scarcity, and the naira devaluation affect the commodity’s price.
According to reports, Nigeria has about 209 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves but cannot explore it due to low investment.
Nigerian states with highest cooking gas prices
Monthly, the price of cooking gas rose by 7.62% from N5.874.55 recorded in July 2024 to N6,430 in August 2024.
The NBS report said Benue and Sokoto experienced the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cooking gas at N7,000, followed by Rivers at N6,954.55 and Borno states at N6,914.29.
Taraba recorded the lowest price of cooking gas at N5,600.67, followed by Abuja and Kogi at N5,825 and N5,857.56, respectively.
Zones with costliest and cheapest prices
In addition, the breakdown by zone showed that the South East recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas, followed by the South-South, with N6,451.34, while the North-Central recorded the lowest N6,344.29.
Additionally, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas cylinder rose by 9.05% monthly from N14,261.57 in July 2024 to N15,552 in August 2024. Yearly, the price rose by 69% from N9,194.41 in August 2023.
Dealers adjust prices for cooking gas again
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigerians were facing severe hardship, and one key factor was the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas.
The National Bureau of Statistics's most recent price watch report revealed that the average price for refilling a 5kg cooking gas cylinder in June was N7,418.45.
Meanwhile, refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas cost an average of N15,627.40, a significant increase from the N9,123.25 it was sold for in June 2023.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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