The sharp depreciation of the naira and the country’s dependence on the importation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) also known as cooking gas has pushed up the price of the product by 70.12 per cent in the past year.
Despite efforts in recent times to bring down the price of cooking, the price has continued to accelerate, rising by over 70 per cent in the last year.
Nigeria imports over 50 per cent of its cooking gas as local production is insufficient to meet local demand, making the price susceptible to FX crisis.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) Price Watch for May 2024, reported that the average retail price for refilling a five-kilogramme cylinder increased from N4,360.69 in May 2023 to N7,418.45 in May 2024, a year-on-year increase of 70.12 per cent.On a month-on-month basis it increased by 13.75 per cent from N6,521.58 recorded in April to N7,418.45 in May.
Benue recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas with N8,012.03 followed by Enugu with N7,926.21, and Ondo with N7,857.53.
On the other hand, Yobe recorded the lowest price with N5,842.31 followed by Jigawa and Katsina with N6,521.81 and N6,567.95 respectively.
In a related development, the NBS also reported that the average retail price per litre of household kerosene (HHK) in May was N1,450.35, showing an increase of 0.74 per cent compared to N1,439.64 recorded in April.
On a year-on-year basis, the average retail price per litre of the product rose by 20.26 per cent, from N1,206.05 in May 2023.
On state profile analysis, the highest average price per litre in May 2024 was again recorded in Benue with N1,790.92 followed by Kaduna with N1,769.65 and Cross River with N1,722.94.
On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Katsina with N1,230.81 followed by Kwara with N1,260.07 and Jigawa with N1,263.91.
