Stakeholders in the baking, catering and hospitality sectors have decried the constant rise in the price of liquefied petroleum gas, also known as cooking gas.
Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the Chairman of the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers, Abuja Unit, Ishaq Abdulraheem and the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Hotel Association, Rivers State, Napoleon Koko, stated that the situation, coupled with the increase in other prices of commodities needed in the industry, had placed a strain on the survival of the businesses.
On Tuesday, cooking gas per kilogramme sold at N1,200 from the previous price of N950, revealing a 26 per cent increase.
Consequently, the price of 12.5kg of cooking gas sold for N15,000.
However, following the fuel subsidy removal, the gas price witnessed a drastic reduction and saw some Nigerians abandoned their diesel and petrol-powered generators to gas-powered ones.
But in September, gas retailers warned that the price of 12.5kg cooking might increase to N18,000 by December if the activities of the terminal owners were not checked.
The President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Gas Marketers, Olatunbosun Oladapo, had told The PUNCH that the terminal owners were “hiding under the guise of high foreign exchange to increase the price to further increase the suffering of the masses.”
The Abuja AMBC chairman stated that despite the increase, bakers and caterers could not return to using charcoal and firewood due to the negative effects it had on the environment.
“Now, the price of gas is N12,000 per litre. As I speak with you, we don’t know how to survive in this business anymore. We are just looking at what God will do because things are very difficult for us,” he lamented.
