NBS also said HHK locally produced grew by 56 per cent YoY to 69.7 million litres in 2023 from 44.68 million litres in 2024
By Kehinde Okeowo
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol into Nigeria dropped by 13.77 percent to 20.30 billion liters in 2023 compared to 23.54 billion liters in 2022.
The development was disclosed in NBS’s latest Petroleum Products Distribution Data for 2023.
The development showed that petrol imports were reduced following the introduction of the fuel subsidy removal policy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government in May 2023.
The data agency’s report further revealed that the distribution of petrol dropped by 16.96 percent to 20.22 billion liters from 24.35 billion liters recorded in 2023.
It also indicated that a total of 4.94 billion liters of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) were imported in 2023, indicating an increase of 23.66 percent.
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Similarly, the volume of Household Kerosene (HHK) locally produced grew by 56 per cent YoY to 69.7 million litres in 2023 from 44.68 million litres in 2024.
The report read: “In 2023, PMS truck out stood at 20.22 billion litres, indicating a 16.96 per cent decrease relative to 24.35 billion litres recorded in 2022. About 69.71 million litres of HHK were locally produced in 2023 compared to 44.68 million litres in 2022, indicating a growth rate of 56.02 per cent.
“For AGO, 109.39 million litres were locally produced in 2023, higher than the 102.47 million litres reported in 2022. This represents a 6.76 per cent growth. In terms of imported products, 20.30 billion litres of PMS were imported in 2023, relative to 23.54 billion litres in 2022, showing a decrease of 13.77 per cent.”
In 2023, the federal government announced fuel subsidy removal which saw the price of the product rise from N238 per litre to above N600 per litre.
Meanwhile, in September 2024, the pump price of petrol rose to between N950.22 and N1,100 per liter.
This happened as Nigeria began domestic distribution production of petrol at Dangote Refinery on September 15.
