Fuel scarcity reoccurred in October in Nigeria. In many parts of the county, including the country’s capital, Abuja and major commercial hubs like Lagos and Kano, there were long queues of motorists at filling stations waiting to buy petrol.
The scarcity naturally led to most marketers selling petrol above the official pump price of N169 per litre. Petrol costs as much as N330 per litre in many parts of the country.
In addition there is a spike in the cost of living with food prices and transportation fare reaching unprecedented levels, according to the National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) reports.
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The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) blames insufficient trucks and high vessel prices for the fuel shortage. These factors make it difficult for trucks to transport petroleum supplies from depots to filling stations all over Nigeria, the association claims.
On the other hand, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its transport fare watch report, revealed that commuters paid an average of N644.66 in December for intracity journeys, with a month-on-month increase of 1.19% and a year-on-year increase of 36.92%. Commuters also paid an average of N3,975.14 for intercity bus travel per drop, representing a 3.29% month-over-month increase and a 42.74% year-on-year increase.
The average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journeys increased by 1.81% on a month-on-month basis from N73,267.57 in November 2022 to N74,597.30 in December 2022 and a year-on-year increase of 95.01% from N38,253.36 recorded in December 2021.
On a month-over-month basis, the average transit fare spent on Okada transportation in December 2022 was N462.13, which was also 0.68% more than the rate recorded in November 2022 (N459.02); the fare increased by 39.04% on a year-on-year basis.
Meanwhile, the cost of food items in December 2022 increased according to the NBS report of selected food prices watches.
Evaporated canned milk (peak, 170g) recorded the highest month-on-month growth rate of food items, followed by maize grain, agric eggs (the price of one) and agric eggs (medium size), with a month-on-month growth rate of 3.90%, 3.57%, 3.15%, and 2.96% respectively.
However, most common food items like boneless beef, rice (locally sold, loose), tomato, brown beans (sold loose), palm oil, and vegetable oil also recorded significant growth rates monthly and yearly.
In December 2022, the average price of 1 kg of boneless beef was N2,377.29, 1.70% more expensive than in November 2022. (N2,337.29). The price of 1 kg of rice (locally sold, loose) purchased locally increased by 1.91% on a monthly basis and 23.15% on an annual basis, respectively.
When compared month over month and year over year, the average price of 1 kg of tomato and 1 kg of loose brown beans grew by 0.72% and 1.31% month-on-month and 28.40% and 18.45% year-on-year, respectively.
In December 2022, the average price of a bottle of palm oil was N1,024.13, representing a growth rate of 1.74% month over month. On an annual basis, the price of palm oil increased by 28.73%.
On an annual basis, the average price of vegetable oil increased by 29.60%, while on a monthly basis, it increased by 1.64%.
All of these costs reflect Nigeria’s inflation rate, especially food inflation. The NBS also attributes the increased inflation rate on a month-on-month basis to the strong rise in demand that typically occurs during the holiday season and an increase in production costs, such as higher energy and transportation costs, exchange rate depreciation and an interruption in the food supply chain.
Fuel scarcity also harms businesses by increasing production and operating costs, damaging profit margins, and thereby increasing the risk of business sustainability.
fuel scarcity