Cooking gas prices skyrocket by 114% in 16 months – Report

• Published On: 21 October 2024 at 12:17

The price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, often known as cooking gas, has skyrocketed from N700 per kilogramme in June 2023, shortly after President Bola Tinubu took office, to N1,500 per kilogramme in October 2024, according to The PUNCH.

This represents an alarming 114% growth in just 16 months.

LPG costs have risen in tandem with the growing exchange rate, as the fuel is priced in dollars. Since the Tinubu administration floated the naira, its value has dropped significantly, from around N700 per dollar in May 2023 to nearly N1,700 per dollar now.

Suresh Kumar, Managing Director/CEO of NIPCO Plc, disclosed during the recent National Conference of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers in Lagos that Nigeria imports more than 60% of its cooking gas. He asked the federal government to encourage Chevron to convert more of its propane into butane, a more suitable gas for home consumption, because local supply is insufficient.

"Currently, less than 40% of the 1.5 million metric tonnes consumed domestically is produced locally," Kumar confirmed. The reliance on imports and volatile exchange rates has sparked concerns that petrol costs would continue to climb.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the average price for refilling a 5kg LPG cylinder climbed by 4.19% between August 2024 and September 2024, from N6,430 to N6,699. On a year-over-year basis, this is a 59.90% gain over N4,189 in September 2023.

Rivers State had the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder, at N7,285, followed by Gombe (N7,271) and Borno (N7,089. Meanwhile, Kebbi had the lowest price of N5,950, followed by Kano (N6,133) and Benue (N6,143). Zonal research found that the North-East had the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder at N6,929, while the North-West had the lowest at N6,382.

Prices for a 12.5kg cylinder increased by 4.89% from N15,552 in August to N16,313 in September 2024, or 76.41% year on year from N9,247 in September 2023. Rivers State once again had the highest price at N17,993, with Gombe and Zamfara close behind. Adamawa had the lowest price of N13,983.

As petrol prices rise, many Nigerians are turning to traditional cooking methods such as firewood, raising concerns about the country's clean cooking targets and deforestation. Experts fear that if the trend continues, it may jeopardise Nigeria's attempts to promote sustainable energy and minimise tree felling.

Samuel Nwanze, Executive Director of Heirs Energies, estimates that Nigeria will require $7.5 billion to achieve clean cooking by 2030. Meanwhile, environmentalists, such as Ola Oresanya of Ogun State, believe that many households would soon turn to charcoal as a cheaper alternative.

The International Energy Agency also emphasises the human cost of this crisis, stating that 500,000 African women die early each year from cooking with firewood or charcoal due to a lack of access to clean energy.

The IEA emphasises that the impact on women is disproportionate, with many spending hours each day collecting firewood, restricting their possibilities for education and employment.