Why 12.5kg cooking gas may soon sell for N10,000

Marketers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas have expressed concern over the supply shortage and persistent increase in the price of cooking gas and cylinders in Nigeria.

The marketers warned that the 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas, which currently sells between N7,500 and N8,000 could rise to N10,000 by December if the government fails to address the crisis.

They also lamented that more Nigerians were being forced to return to kerosene, firewood, charcoal and sawdust due to the sudden rise in the price of cooking gas.

Mr Bassey Essien, the executive secretary of the National Association of LPG Marketers, made this known during the weekly e-discourse organised by a leading Pan-African forum, Platforms Africa on Saturday, October 9, 2021.

Essien said that government needed to review the recently introduced import charges and Value Added Tax, saying “the price of cooking gas may as well reach N10,000 for a 12.5kg cylinder.”

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“Today, the price has risen to N7,500 and N8,000. The skyrocketing price of gas is our fear and what we are trying to avoid. Early in the year a 20-metric ton of gas was selling for below N5m but today, the same tonnage sells for N10.2m. As long as there is that supply shortage, the available quantity and the dynamics of supply-demand will keep pushing the price higher.” he said.

Essien also condemned the gradual rise in the cost of cylinders over the years.

He said all the raw materials used by the two cylinder manufacturing plants in the country were imported.

He said, “The cylinder ownership structure in the country ensures that owners are in charge of their cylinders. Cylinders expire on the 15th year of usage from the manufacturing date. Because of the high replacement cost, consumers buy what they can afford. This has equally encouraged the proliferation of substandard cylinders in circulation. The regulators are working hard to monitor the standard of cylinders coming into the country.

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“The progress in cylinder acquisition still needs government input to ensure that the cost of materials for cylinder production get the necessary exemption from duties but however the state of our local currency still remains a major problem.”

He, however, added that the association was interfacing with the government, stakeholders, producers and importers to see how the situation could be addressed.