Marketers under the aegis of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) have expressed concern over the continuous rise in the price of cooking gas also called Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
The President of NALPGAM, Mr Nosa Ogieva-Okunbor, while speaking at the association’s 34th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, said the price hike has been accompanied by increase in demand.
In the past month, consumers across the country have complained that 12.5kg of cooking gas now sells for N5,500 as against N3,200,
Ogieva-Okunbor pointed out that cooking gas consumption in the country had increased from 550,000 Metric Tonnes in 2017 to about 1.2 million Metric Tonnes in 2020.
He said, “However, in spite of efforts at increasing the availability of cooking gas in the country, the price of the product has become worrisome in the industry.
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“If the trend is not addressed and a lasting solution proffered, all the gains made to increase consumption to the current modest level would be reversed.
“The high cost of the product with the eroding purchasing power of the people would only result in a reversal to the use of the readily affordable charcoal and firewood with the attendant negative environmental and health implications.’’
Ogieva-Okunbor said NALPGAM was engaging the relevant government agencies and stakeholders to develop policies that will accelerate the full domestication of LPG.
He said such a policy will ensure price stability and availability of the product to protect the interest of consumers and investors in the LPG industry.
Also speaking, the Chairman House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Relocation of Tank Farms from Residential Areas, Mr Sergius Ogun, said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) will help increase the domestic supply of LPG.
This, according to Ogun, is because the Act made it obligatory for operators in the gas sector to supply to the domestic gas market before exporting the product.
