Cooking gas prices across Nigeria have dropped significantly over the past two months, driven by the Federal Government’s issuance of import permits to gas marketers to bridge a widening domestic supply gap.
A kilogram of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas, is now retailing for around N1,400 in major cities like Lagos and Enugu and several other cities. This marks a 39 percent decline from the N2,000 to N2,300 price highs recorded in June, implying a move that has yielded fruit. Industry insiders familiar with the development attribute the relief directly to a massive influx of imported LPG, which has finally eased the market.
“The rate at which import permits were approved recently was massive. That is why prices are crashing,” one industry source familiar with the approvals told BusinessDay.
Another source said global supply disruptions triggered by the U.S.-Iran conflict initially tightened the domestic market, but difficulties in obtaining import approvals also worsened supply shortages.
“The initial problem was the US-Iran conflict, which disrupted the global LPG market. Then there were financing challenges and difficulties in getting import permits from the government to complement local supply gaps,” the source said.
