The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has blamed foreign exchange scarcity for the current high price of domestic gas.
Its Executive Secretary, Mr Bassey Essein, told newsmen in Lagos last week that the current high price was arbitrary.
Essein said that sourcing foreign exchange during the festivities posed a serious challenge to marketers to buy LPG from gas off-takers.
He said that although the product was being sourced locally, but marketers were paying international rates to buy it and this had posed serious challenges to marketers.
Essien said there was no justification for the current high price for a product produced locally.
The marketer said it was unreasonable to charge dollar rates for a product that was being produced locally and transported from Bonny Terminal to marketers.
He said that marketers had condemned the practice and even complained, but to no avail.
Essien appealed to Federal Government to urgently look into the frequent price changes from the manufacturers.
He also appealed that preference should be given to local market in the supply chain.
“Inability to get adequate product from the manufacturers during the festivities contributed to the price hike.
“Only few trucks discharged LPG at the Apapa Terminal during the Christmas and New Year break,’’ he said.
Essein said that a truck of gas, which usually sold at N 4.3 million per 20 metric tons, was sold for N6 million per 20 metric tons during the Christmas period.
He said that this price increase at the terminal impacted negatively at the retail end where a 12.5kg cylinder, formally sold for between N3,000 and N3,200, went up to N4, 500.
Also, Chairman, Ultimate Gas Ltd; Alhaji Auwalu Ilu said that the price hike could be linked to the winter season abroad.
“We are approaching winter now and the international price is going up, which is the usually the case.
“It’s usually high during this period because we are bound by the international price.
“It is pricing problem; it’s usually on the increase on daily basis. The demand is higher during winter in Europe and America since gas is used to heat,’’ he said.
Some users have condemned the sudden hike in price of cooking gas
The price of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder, which was between N3,200 and N3,500, suddenly went up to between N4,300 and N4,500 during the yuletide.
Mr Chika Umudu, the Chairman of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers (LPGAR) said that his members spent days at LPG plants to get supplies.
Umudu said that the price hike was unfortunate at this time when many Nigerians had adopted the use of the cleaner energy
Mr Julius Godwin, a retailer in Lagos, said that the business of selling cooking gas was no longer profitable.
“I am still selling the product to earn a living as the profit margin is low,” he said.
On the average, retailers in Lagos have increased the price by over 15 per cent.
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