Cooking gas 12.5kg refill price ticks up, may reach N18,000 by December
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
A 12.5kg refill of cooking gas now costs N12,500 – or approximately N1,000 per kg – with 12.5kg price up from N9,800 in September, according to the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The average price of cooking gas was N11,000 for 12.5kg in August 2023, more than N2,000 above N8,727.30 it cost in May 2022.
Oil and gas expert Zakka Bala said the price fluctuations are expected as the sector has long been deregulated.
But Olatunbosun Oladapo, the President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, warned the price of 12.5kg cooking gas refill could reach N18,000 by December 2023 if regulators fail to rein in the activities of terminal owners across the country, per Daily Post.
Cooking gas price may rise above N1,000 per kg
Other stakeholders have alerted cooking gas scarcity looms with the price now at an all-time high of N1,000 per kg, up from N750.
The Guardian reports the surge in price has left many Nigerians scrambling for alternative means to cook, and experts warn the current shortage could lead to a full-blown crisis, if not urgently addressed.
The price rise is attributed to a convergence of many factors such as weak naira exchange rate, limited bulk storage, scattered terminals across Lagos, Edo, Delta and Cross Rivers.
Long queues for cooking gas at filling stations have resurfaced in some parts of Lagos and Ogun as consumers find it difficult to buy the product.
Memunat Alao, a cooking gas retailer, said many companies are hoarding the product on speculation the price would go higher than N1,000 per kg.
The scarcity of vessels to ferry the product from the international market has raised the cost of chartering vessels, fuelling expectation the coming winter will further drive up the price.
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Importers hoarding cooking gas
Bloomberg reports Spark Commodities as saying the cost of chartering a vessel is $70,500 per day and due to scarcity the rate is expected to rise to $206,750 per day in October and $284,750 per day in November.
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) had in August 2023 warned of cooking gas price rise due to the hike in foreign exchange (forex) rate and activities at the international market.
NALPGAM also listed rising international gas prices, high tax rates, prices of vessels, and naira devaluation.
NALPGAM President Olatunbosun Oladapo urged Abuja to improve on local supply of cooking gas and check the role of middlemen and terminal operators to avoid capitalising on forex rate.
Diary Hills Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Emmanuel stressed the demand for cooking gas to power generators and cars also adds to the price pressure.
“The long term effect of scarcity because of the shortage of bulk storage terminals, companies in the midstream importing product are hoarding for the purposes of price speculation and FX volatility, is that prices will continue to rise per KG,” he explained.