Business
Why price of cooking gas may not crash despite improved supply
While news of improved supply in cooking gas holds some relief for Nigerian households, there are concerns that the price of this essential item may not crash anytime soon.
Over the weekend, Ripples Nigeria gathered that the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Company had delivered about 13000 tonnes of LPG to its Lagos jetty.
This is said to have been confirmed by its General Manager, External Relations, Kudo Eresia Eke who also added that there would be return trips by its vessels to ensure adequate supply and price stability.
The development not withstanding, consumers may have to contend with high cost for cooking gas as domestic prices are said to reflect international price index plus 50 per cent of the shipping cost of delivering the product to receiving facilities. Also worrisome is the fact that the unstable and diminishing value of the Naira will continue to negatively impact prices as the product is invoiced in naira at the prevailing official interbank exchange rates.
Market watchers argue that these factors will remain a major setback in the struggle to ensure that prices of domestic gas are affordable while deepening its usage across most Nigerian homes. Already fears of increasing damage to the environment had been expressed with both the ministries of environment and petroleum resources at loggerheads over cause of deforestation in the country.
Scarcity of domestic gas had seen prices rise to over N5,000 for the regular 12.5kg from an average of N3,200. Even with improved supplies, market watchers contend that prices may not likely go below N4,000 as international price index rules and the Naira remains weakened.
Worse still, guarantees of efficient stock levels are likely to remain a challenge as the NLNG blames port handling issues as set back for its operations. Said its spokes person, “NLNG’s dedicated LPG vessel has been unable to discharge LPG at the Apapa port since December 29, 2016 due to jetty unavailability, resulting in temporary product shortages in the market.” This scenario may continue to play out as priority is placed on discharge of petrol and aviation fuel.
Ripples Nigeria…without borders, without fears
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...
yanju omotodun
January 17, 2017 at 7:09 am
The next thing to resort to , is to reduce the number of times we cook per day so as to preserve our cooking gas to last longer.
Margret Dickson
January 17, 2017 at 10:35 am
All of us will start eating once or twice a day. Thanks to the federal government for treating us this way, May God punish them all!
Joy Madu
January 17, 2017 at 5:51 pm
Amen. And GOD punish all those who voted for change
seyi jelili
January 17, 2017 at 7:34 am
This country is turning into something else. Even the people who want to resort to using firewoods are complaining as firewoods is also very expensive to get even charcoals are expensive, in a nutshell, cooking of food is now expensive in Nigeria, I hope we won’t start eating our food raw.
JOHNSON PETER
January 17, 2017 at 8:00 am
When we are not animals, we can not eat raw food no matter what. Man will survive at all cost even if the government insist inflicting hardship on us.
chichi emerue
January 17, 2017 at 5:55 pm
Buhari has turned us to goats and other animals to eat raw food
Roland Uchendu Pele
January 17, 2017 at 8:47 am
“Scarcity of domestic gas had seen prices rise to over N5,000 for the regular 12.5kg from an average of N3,200.”
The story of our lives!
Johnson Amadi
January 17, 2017 at 10:32 am
On thing I’ve noticed about Nigeria is that, whenever, there is increment in prices of commodities, they will never go down. The prices will keep increasing until they will become ‘normal price’