More hard times for Nigerians as Kerosene price hits over N800/litre

More hard times for Nigerians as Kerosene price hits over N800/litre

The current hardship being experienced by Nigerians may last longer than expected as the kerosene price used by several families have jumped to N800 per litre just as the market is beginning to adjust to the newly increased petrol and gas prices.

Theconscienceng market survey on Tuesday showed that one litre of cooking kerosene, sold for N700 last week, now sells for between N800 and N850 in urban parts of Lagos State, while the price has hit as high as N1000 per litre in suburb areas at filling stations.

Unlike petrol, kerosene is a deregulated product- meaning prices are determined by market forces.

National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi blamed the dollar to naira rate for the increase.

“It’s a deregulated market. It is also a function of the dollar to naira rate and the crude price at the international market. Since cooking kerosene is deregulated, prices can go up, it can also come down.” He said.

As of June, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, NBS, had reported an 88 per cent rise in prices of cooking kerosene and Liquefied Petroleum Gas within in one year.

The state profile analysis showed that the highest average price per litre in May 2022 was recorded in Enugu with N868.75, followed by Ebonyi with N861.11 and Imo with N801.67. On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Bayelsa with N558.06, followed by Yobe with N601.39, and Nasarawa with N603.33.

In addition, the South-East recorded the highest average retail price per litre of household kerosene with N773.09, followed by the South-West with N738.19, and the North-Central with N668.78, while the North-East reported the lowest with N632.06.

In the same vein, Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers’ Association of Nigeria, DAPPMAN, Olufemi Adewole, told newsmen in an interview that the reason behind the continuous rise in prices of cooking kerosene was the exchange rate.

“Cooking kerosene is deregulated so prices depend on foreign exchange. A dollar is now N700 from N600 just last month, so prices will surely increase,” he said.