Amid Cash, Fuel Scarcity, Nigerians Pay More For Cooking Gas

The average price of cooking gas across Nigeria went up by 0.51 per cent in January compared to what it sold at in December last year, thus, adding to the new Naira scarcity challenge in the midst of fuel scarcity. 

This is even as household kerosene price went up by 163.7 per cent year on year in January.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS), the price of the 5kg and 12.5kg cylinder cooking gas rose by 25.46 and 38.63 per cents respectively when compared to the price in January 2022, with Nigerians in the north central region paying the most.

Data released by the statistics office showed that the average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) increased by 0.51 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N4,565.56 recorded in December 2022 to N4,588.75 in January 2023. 

On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 25.46 per cent from N3,657.57 in January 2022.

Similarly, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) increased by 0.28 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N10,248.97 in December 2022 to N10,277.17 in January 2023. On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 38.63 per cent from N7,413.25 in January 2022.

On state profile analysis, Kwara recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N4,962.50, followed by Plateau with N4,945.50, and Adamawa with N4,936.67. 

On the other hand, Enugu recorded the lowest price with N4,119.23, followed by Anambra and Rivers with N4,183.14 and N4,210.00 respectively.

In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-Central recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N4,859.60, followed by the North-West with N4,616.66, while the South-East recorded the lowest with N4,408.99.

Also, state profile analysis showed that Benue recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N11,260.67, followed by Cross River with N10,833.33 and Ebonyi with N10,763.57. 

Conversely, the lowest average price was recorded in Yobe with N9,550.00, followed by Taraba and Gombe with N9,845.00 and N9,850.00 respectively.

The price per litre of Household Kerosene (HHK) paid by consumers in January 2023 was N1,153.40, indicating an increase of 4.42 per cent compared to N1,104.61 recorded in December 2022. On a year-on-year basis, the average retail price per litre of the product rose by 163.87 per cent from N437.11 in January 2022.

On state profile analysis, the highest average price per litre in January 2023 was recorded in Abuja with N1,566.67, followed by Lagos with N1,411.11 and Plateau with N1,383.33. On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Jigawa with N891.67, followed by Edo with N925.93 and Katsina with N935.19.

In addition, analysis by zone showed that the South-West recorded the highest average retail price per litre of Household Kerosene with N1,232.15, followed by the South-East with N1,223.95, while the North-West recorded the lowest with N1,003.54. 

The average retail price per gallon of Household Kerosene paid by consumers in January 2023 was N3,886.11, showing an increase of 3.54 per cent from N3,753.38 in December 2022. On a year-on-year basis, this increased by 154.20 per cent from N1,528.74 in January 2022