Due to the fact that the cost of household kerosene has increased by 118% over the course of the past year, it may be out of reach for poor Nigerians.
The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics’ September National Household Kerosene report shows that the average retail price per liter of the product increased by 118% to N947 from N434 in September 2021.
The report states that consumers paid an average of N947 for a liter of HHK in September 2022, an increase of 17% from the August 2022 price of N809 for the same amount.
According to the report’s breakdown, Enugu had the highest average price per liter in September 2022, with N1,272, followed by Ebonyi with N1,264 and Cross River with N1,186, according to state profile analysis.
On the other hand, Rivers had the lowest price, N686, followed by Bayelsa, N715, and Nasarawa, N735. Additionally, zone-by-zone analysis revealed that the North-West had the lowest average retail price per liter with N869, while the South-East had the highest average retail price per liter with N1,128.
In September 2022, the average retail price of a gallon of products paid by customers was N3,236—a 10% increase from N2,948 in August 2022.It increased by 110% from N1,541 in September 2021 to N1,541 in 2019. According to the report, Abuja had the highest average retail price per gallon of cooking kerosene in the state profile analysis, with N4,200, followed by Abia with N4,078 and Enugu with N4,052. Borno, on the other hand, had the lowest price, N2,500, followed by Zamfara, Delta, and N2,555, respectively.
According to zone analysis, the South-East had the highest average retail price per gallon of the product—N3,607—followed by the South-West—N3,468, and the North-East had the lowest—N2,804—according to the analysis. A gallon of cooking kerosene was sold for N790 in July, a 3.68 percent increase from N761.69 in June.
The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, the state oil company, had recently stopped importing the product, which caused independent marketers to keep raising prices.
Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., stated that more than 70% of Nigeria’s over 200 million people do not have access to clean cooking fuels.Additionally, the cost of cooking gas has skyrocketed.
Oladapo Olatunbosun, National President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, stated that gas consumption had significantly decreased to 800,000 metric tonnes per year from 1,250 million MT per year approximately four months prior.
He claims that Nigeria should consume at least six million MT annually due to its large population. The current consumption rate in Nigeria is 800,000 MT per year.We were producing 1,250 million MT annually just a few months ago.
“Typically, given our population, we should consume approximately six million MT annually, comparable to other African nations such as Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Kenya, and South Africa, among others.Even though Nigeria has a large population, these nations currently use more LPG than we do,” he said. In the meantime, experts in finance and economics have advised the government to intervene to alleviate Nigerians’ difficulties.
Dr. Muda Yusuf, a former Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that the poor masses would benefit greatly from the government’s swift intervention to reduce product prices. He stated, “The astronomical rise in the price of cooking kerosene will further exacerbate the country’s poverty.”Kerosene for the home is not a luxury; rather, it is a necessity. The fact that the cost of cooking food is rising is an additional burden on top of the already severe problem of high food inflation.Therefore, this is an additional burden for the average Nigerian and the poor, and it is evident that the impact on poverty will be very significant.
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