As Nigerian households struggle with cost of living especially that of food stuff, they are also finding it difficult to cook whatever little thing they are able to get. This is on account of the escalating cost of Kerosene and cooking gas, whose prices rose by 25.18 percent and 1.7 percent in the last one year.
The National Bureau of Statistics ( NBS) in its October 2023 household Kerosene and cooking gas report shows that the price of the average retail price per litre of Household Kerosene (HHK) paid by consumers in October 2023 increased from N1,041.05 in October 2022 to N1,303.16, indicating an increase of 25.18 percent year-on-year.
However, on month-on-month basis, the increased by 0.32 percent from N1,299.03 recorded in September 2023.
The report also shows that for Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, the average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder increased from N4,483.75 in October 2022 to N4,562.51 in October 2023 indicating a 1.7 percent rise year-on-year.
But on month-on-month basis, the price increased from N4,189.96 recorded in September 2023 to N4,562.51 in October indicating an 8.89 percent rise.
On state profile analysis, the highest average price per litre of Household Kerosene in October 2023 was recorded in Adamawa with N1,676.19, followed by Abia with N1,555.21 and Abuja with N1,541.67.
On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Kwara with N1,034.29, followed by Kebbi with N1,133.33 and Enugu with N1,134.52.
Kano recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N5,181.43, followed by Adamawa with N5,142.86, and Ogun with N5,093.75. While Ebonyi recorded the lowest price with N3,971.43, followed by Osun and Edo with N4,000.00 and N4,025.00 respectively.
Analysis by zone showed that the North-West recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N4,738.20, followed by the North-Central with N4,662.62, while the South-East recorded the lowest with N4,088.65.
Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) increased by 14.04 percent on a month-on-month basis from N9,247.40 in September 2023 to N10,545.87 in October 2023. On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 4.93 percent from N10,050.53 in October 2022.
On state profile analysis, Edo recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N12,536.88, followed by Jigawa with N12,050.00 and Delta with N11,987.50. Conversely, the lowest average price was recorded in Zamfara with N9,050.00, followed by Lagos and Oyo with N9,071.05 and N9,407.14 respectively.
Analysis by zone showed that the South-South recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N11,480.60, followed by the North-Central with N10,683.97, while the South-East recorded the lowest price with N9,847.42.