Price of Cooking Gas Forces Households, Restaurants to Switch to Charcoal, Firewood
- A good number of Nigerians have already resorted to the use of firewood and charcoal following the continued increment in the price of cooking gas
- In the past weeks, consumers have lamented the inability to cope with the cost saying they cannot afford to refill their cooking gas cylinders
- The hike in the price of the commodity has now led to high patronage of firewood and charcoal for cooking especially in rural areas
Amid the rise in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, many households, restaurants and other users of the commodity have been forced to seek alternative means of cooking.
The Punch reports that Liquefied Petroleum Gas dealers confirmed many small-scale restaurants in Abuja and Lagos have adopted using charcoal and firewood in order to stay afloat.
Many households of low-income earners are also beginning to embrace the use of charcoal and firewood as another option for cooking.
Ms Favour Okon, manager of Favour Foods, located in Abuja speaking to The Punch said it will be tough to use gas to cook for the number of daily customers and make a profit.
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Firewood and charcoal to the rescue
In another report by The Sun, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers (LPGAR) declared that over 50% of cooking gas users have switched back to firewood and charcoal as an alternative in rural areas.
According to Michael Umudu, the national chairman, this decision was based on the continued increment in the price of cooking gas across the country.
Umudu explained that the price of 12.5kg cooking gas cylinder within the last few weeks made the product unaffordable to many Nigerians.
Consumers have been struggling with the high costs of cooking gas due to global supply challenges, high international prices, limited availability of foreign exchange and high exchange rates.
Why NLNG cut cooking gas exports
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that as cooking gas price continues to rise in various parts of the country, operators attribute the hike to the nation’s grappling economy, rise in population and VAT.
Nigeria LNG Limited stated the reason why it reduced the export of cooking gas in the country.
NLNG disclosed it reduced its exports so as to meet the rising demand in the domestic market.
Anxiety as marketers halt importation of cooking gas
In a related development, importers of cooking gas halted the importation of the commodity.
This followed the increased cost of the product by 240% for 12.5kg. Investigations showed that between January and October, prices of cooking gas jumped from N3,000 to N10,200.
The executive secretary, Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, Bassey Essien on Monday, November 8, listed reintroduction of customs duty and Value Added Tax on imported LPG as the basic reasons for the halt.
Source: Legit.ng