As Nigerians continue to lament over escalating prices, the prices of cooking gas and kerosene have maintained a steady rise, increasing by 101 per cent and 102.38 per cent respectively in the last year.
Data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
showed that the average price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas
rose by 119.3 percent to N9,899 in August 2022, from the same period last year.
On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 0.77 percent from N9,824 in July.
Similarly, the average retail price paid by consumers for
kerosene, increased by 102.4 percent, to N809.52 per litre, in August 2022,
from the same period last year. On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 2.5
percent from N790 in July 2022.
Ngozi Nwaeze, a mother of three, who sells corn and pear in
Abule Ado, Satellite Town, Lagos, said the rising cost of kerosene has
compelled her to increase the cost of her corn by N50. Nwaeze told BusinessDay
that she bought kerosene for N800 a litre on Monday.
She said, “The corn I used to sell for N100 is now sold for
N150, and the one I was selling for N150 is now N200.
“If I don’t increase the cost, I will not make enough profit
to buy the next batch of corn.
“Also, corn season will soon roll over; I have to generate
enough money to sell something else when the season is over.”
Akuboh Benjamin, a resident of Life Camp, Abuja said he buys
1kg of cooking gas for N850, and sometimes N1000. This means he buys 12.5kg for
about N12,000. As a result of the high cost, he said his family now uses
cooking gas sparingly.
Benjamin said his family now relies more on firewood than
cooking gas, especially during weekends when everyone is at home.
“We use firewood to cook food that lasts longer, like beans.
We buy our firewood from construction sites because it is cheaper than buying
it from the market. You can get a full wheelbarrow of firewood for N4000,” he
said.
Also, Rita Adebayo, a corps member serving in Akure, Ondo
State, told BusinessDay she has stopped using gas after she refilled her 6kg
cylinder for N3500 the last time. She said she was planning to buy a
charcoal-fired stove as an alternative.
According to the NBS report, Ebonyi recorded the highest
average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas with
N11,225, followed by Cross River with N10,982 and Delta with N10,965.
The lowest average price was recorded in Katsina with N8,150
followed by Yobe and Taraba with N8,212 and N8,886 respectively.
Analysis by zone showed that the South-South recorded the
highest average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas
with N10,321, followed by the South-West with N10,297, while the North-East
recorded the lowest price with N9,205.
Meanwhile, on state profile analysis, the highest average
price per litre of kerosene in August 2022 was recorded in Imo with N1,083
followed by Ekiti with N1,027 and Enugu with N1,018.
However, the lowest price was recorded in Nasarawa with
N625, followed by Rivers with N627, and Adamawa with N633.
In addition, analysis by zone showed that the South-East
recorded the highest average retail price per litre of household kerosene with
N954, followed by the South-West with N911, while the South-South recorded the lowest
with N749.5.
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