Cooking gas dealers give reasons for increase in prices

• Cooking gas dealers have adjusted the price of the commodity as Nigeria battles high inflation and forex scarcity
• The dealers hiked the price of the 12.5kg cylinder refill from N14,500 to almost N16,000, blaming high FX
• The development follows the increase in the price of Nigeria’s crude oil in the international markets

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

The price of liquified natural gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, has shot up astronomically due to the naira’s volatility and rise in the cost of crude oil in the international markets.

During a market survey, the dealers who spoke to Legit.ng complained that they find it challenging to source forex from official channels, often leaving them dependent on the black market dealers.

The price of cooking has increased astronomically in the last month Credit: Novatis
Source: Facebook

Marketers give reasons for price increases

“We often patronise street dealers when looking for FX to import cooking gas, and that is at a prohibitive cost,” a Gasland, Iju branch manager, who asked for anonymity and told Legit.ng.

He disclosed that despite the Nigerian government removing Value Added Tax (VAT) and import duty on LPG, the price remains high due to the high forex cost.

“When the dollar was exchanging for about N1,200, the commodity’s price was about N700 per kilogramme. There was even a time when we sold the product at N500 per kilogramme because we could access FX relatively quickly and cheaply in the official markets.“Now that FX is approaching N2,000 per dollar, it’s tough sourcing FX to import the product,” he said.

Data show the cheapest and most expensive states to buy

Findings show that the 12.5kg refill gas price sold for N13,500 between July and early August has surged to close to N16,000.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for July 2024 shows that the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cooking gas dropped by 14.23% on a month-on-month basis from N6,966.03 recorded in June 2024 to N5,974.55 in July 2024. 

On a year-on-year basis, it increased by 46.69% from N4,072.87 in July 2023. On state profile analysis, Borno recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cooking gas, N7,088.59, followed by Yobe with N6,935.50 and Sokoto with N6,750.00.

Conversely, Delta recorded the lowest price, N5,392.86, followed by Zamfara and Kogi, N5,431.25 and N5,560.63, respectively. 

Cooking gas cheaper in North Central

Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas cylinder decreased by 9.37% monthly from N15,736.27 in June 2024 to N14,261.57 in July 2024. On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 55.66% from N9,162.11 in July 2023. 

Conversely, Bauchi recorded the lowest average price, N13,314.47, followed by Enugu and Nassarawa, N13,411.39 and N13,413.81, respectively.

Analysis by zone showed that the North East recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas, N15,075.16, followed by the North West, N14,454.86, while the North Central recorded the lowest price, N13,611.68.

The development comes as Nigeria’s crude oil prices rose above $75 per barrel on Wednesday, September 11, 2024.

The cost of cooking gas increases again

Legit.ng previously reported that the NBS has revealed that the average price for refiling a 5kg Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) cylinder in Nigeria stood at N6,591.62 in March 2024.

This represents a 7.10% increase compared to the N4,562.51 average price recorded in February 2024, which was N6,154.50.

On a year-on-year basis, cooking gas prices increased by 42.97% from N4,610.48, which was paid in March 2023.

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Source: Legit.ng