Daily Independent Online.
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Friday, July 02, 2004.
Kerosene hits N53 per litre, dealers groan
By Charles Okonji
Snr Business correspondent, Lagos
Kerosene dealers in Lagos metropolis have appealed to
the Federal Government to intervene in the process of kerosene importation, as
pump price has hit N53 per litre.
Chairman, Lagos Zone, National Union of Petroleum
and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Kerosene Dealers chapter, Mr. Rotimi
Benjamin, in an interview with our correspondent, lamented the spate at which
the price of the commodity had risen in the last few weeks.
Benjamin explained that as public’s attention
shifted to supply and distribution of premium motor spirit (PMS), landing cost
of a litre of kerosene from depots to dealers’ outlets in the metropolis
went for between N51 and N52 against N48 per litre in March.
He disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) had, since last year, withdrawn completely from importation
of kerosene, leaving only independent and major oil marketers in the business.
Sequel to NNPC’s withdrawal, the marketers have
not been lifting the product from NNPC depot in Ejigbo, Lagos, while the
price continues to soar.
He said: “It is a pity that the price of
kerosene is going up this way. Even during the time of the late Head of state,
General Sanni Abacha when we travelled to Port Harcourt refinery to source for
kerosene, the highest price at that time was N38 per litre.” Benjamin
noted that although the downstream sector had been deregulated, the government
should still regulate kerosene “price since those using the product are
the downtrodden, who constitute the larger society.”
For 2,500 litres, Benajmin said dealers paid about
N125,000, including the cost of hiring trucks and other fines, emphasising that
the dealers earn a little profit of
between 50k and N1on a litre.
This, he said, was not enough for the dealers to keep
their business going, adding that their profits had been hovering around N2,000
despite all the efforts and resources put into it.
At the major oil marketers’ retail outlets in
Lagos, a litre of kerosene goes for between N51 and N53, an indication that
there is no fixed price for the product.
Benjamin said: “The government should not just
leave the dealers and consumers in the hands of private importers in the name
of deregulation. Kerosene must be available at a cheaper price. The government
should have a minimal control over this product and make it accessible at
reasonable price to the masses.”
Recently, there was a public outcry over rise in the
pump price of petrol to between N49.90 and N50 in Lagos and above N51 in other
parts of the country, resulting in a three-day strike in protest of the hike.
Although marketers have brought down the price of petrol, kerosene price has
been on the increase.
