Enugu residents turn to charcoal stove as kerosene price soars

Some Enugu residents have jettisoned their kerosene stoves, opting for charcoal stoves instead because of the high cost of kerosene, which currently sells for between N1,350 and N1,600 per litre.

The News Agency of Nigeria correspondent, who conducted a market survey on charcoal on Tuesday in Enugu, observed that many people now prefer charcoal for cooking because of its affordable price.

Grace Umeh, a charcoal seller in Garki Market, said that although the price of charcoal had risen from N5,000 to N8,000 per sack, the patronage continued to soar.

Ms Umeh said the increase in patronage was because an average family of five could use up to 20 litres of kerosene monthly for their cooking.
“So, the family spends over N20,000 on kerosene in a month.

“On the other hand, a bag of charcoal will last for two months, no matter the pressure of use, for the same family size,” she said.

A charcoal seller at Mayor Market, Oby Okafor, said that most families were buying the commodity in large quantities because of the high cost of kerosene and other energy sources.

“We have continued to experience good and profitable business for some time now in this charcoal business,” Ms Okafor said.

Christiana Ozor, a charcoal dealer at Achara Layout, said that because of the increase in patronage, she now sells over two bags daily.

Some residents said that using charcoal for cooking saves them a lot of money.

Gilbert Nnamdi, a father of four, said a new charcoal stove introduced to him by his friend helped him to reduce the amount he spent on kerosene.

“With only N200 charcoal, my wife can cook a pot of soup and a pot of rice for the family, no matter the quantity of the food.

“This new charcoal stove does not take time to catch fire and does not bring out smoke while cooking,” he said.

Another charcoal user, who spoke on anonymity, said that she had been using charcoal since the increase in the price of kerosene.

“I stopped using kerosene when the price increased to N900, and because I am afraid of using cooking gas, I quickly opted for charcoal as an energy cooking source,” she said.

Food vendors in Enugu have joined the rush for charcoal because they can no longer afford kerosene and cooking gas.

A restaurant owner, Ijeoma Dim, explained that the high kerosene and cooking gas costs have given charcoal a “sudden prominence”.

A resident, Ofor Anyawu, said charcoal sellers were doing brisk business in Enugu because of the increase in the price of other cooking energy sources.

Mr Anyawu called on the government to make all cooking energy sources affordable and available for the masses, especially in the face of the country’s economic challenge.