Prices of cooking fuels, kerosene and Liquefied Petroleum Gas, recorded an 88 per cent price increase within in one year.
This is according to a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics titled, “National Household Kerosene Price Watch,” the price of kerosene went up by 86.94 per cent in one year.
The report also said that the average retail price per litre of household kerosene (HHK) paid by consumers in May 2022 increased by 15.21 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N589.82 in April 2022 to N679.54 in May 2022.
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 recorded the lowest with N632.06.
Also, in a separate report titled “Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking gas) Price Watch,” the NBS said the average retail price for cooking gas increased by 89.28 percent from N2071.69 in May 2021.
According to the report, the average retail price per litre of Household Kerosene paid by consumers in May 2022 increased by 15.21 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N589.82 in April 2022 to N679.54 in May 2022.
Based on state profile analysis, the highest average price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) was recorded in Gombe with N4366.67, followed by Bayelsa with N4325.00 and Adamawa with N4250.00. On the other hand, Yobe recorded the lowest average price with N3200.00; this was followed by Ogun and Ondo with N3450.00 and N3480.77 respectively.
In addition, prices analysed by zones show that the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas was highest in the South -East with N 4094.39 followed by the North-Central with N3989.98 and South-South with N3977.72, while the South West recorded the lowest average retail price of N3719.53.
When aggregated, both products hit an 88.11 per cent average, based on the numbers for the past 12 months.
An energy expert, Bala Zakka, while speaking in an exclusive chat with our correspondent, attributed the sharp increase in the price of the products to Nigeria’s continued inability to refine petroleum products for local consumption.