Despite N70bn Kerosene Importation, Nigerians Pay Heavily for Scarce Commodity

James Emejo in Abuja

Nigerians are increasingly finding it difficult to buy the household kerosene (HHK) despite a whopping N70.7 billion spent in importing the commodity in 2016.

Furthermore, kerosene importation gulped N24.7 billion in the last quarter of last year (Q4 2016), according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). A total of 713.79 million litres of HHK was imported in the whole of last year, 182.9 million litres in Q4 alone.

Although, kerosene is believed to be deregulated, Nigerians are currently finding it difficult to access the product. They are also believed to be paying heavily for the scarce commodity used as cooking fuel in majority of the homes.

THISDAY findings revealed that while the pump price of a litre of kerosene is N80, it is actually difficult to buy the commodity at the filling stations across the country. The development has more than tripled the retail price of the commodity as most people resort to the black market which sells at between N350 to N400 per litre.

Yet, the average monthly landing cost per litre of the commodity was N135.49 in October when 67.73 million litres was imported, according to the NBS. In November 2016, 69.31 million litres was imported at an average landing cost of N126.85 and N144.05 when 45.89 million litres was imported in December.

According to the National Household Kerosene Price Watch for December 2016, which was released by the statistical agency, Nigerians paid N231.85 as average monthly unofficial price of HHK and N1,032.59 for a gallon in the period under review.