Marketers attribute price decrease in cooking gas to international activities

Former President of the Nigeria Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA), Mr. Nuhu Yakubu, has attributed the decrease in the retail price of cooking gas in the country to the fall in the price of the product on the international market.

Yakubu said this in an interview on Thursday in Lagos, against the backdrop of a reduction in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Nigeria.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the current price of natural gas dropped by 76.1 percent to 2.10 per one million British Thermal Units (BTU) on May 31 from 8.78 per one million BTU.

Yakubu said that the price of LPG dropped because the international reference price in USD had dropped amidst a relatively stable Naira exchange rate.

“So, the ripple effect is being felt locally in retail pump price reductions.

“The current price of LPG depends on location; as you know, it’s operating in a deregulated market.

“However price is averaging at N730 per kilogram or N417 per litre,” he said.

Yakubu, also Group Chief Executive Officer, Banner Gas Ltd., said that government had no role in LPG pricing, except to levy taxes on the product.

He said, "So, the government can only help with reducing taxes.

“The government can also help address the issues challenging gas supply as feedstock to major LPG producers like NLNG.

According to him, it will enable increased production of LPG and domestic supply.

“With improved domestic supply comes better retail pump pricing.”

Mr. Oladapo Olatunbosun, the President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), said that the reduction in the price of LPG was a commendable effort.

Olatunbosun said that the association was monitoring the development, watching the decline in market price while believing it would continue.

“All our assessments and recommendations are reserved until we have a full cabinet of the new government,” he said.

A NAN correspondent who monitored cooking gas prices at the retail market gathered that the cost of cooking gas had reduced by 15 percent.