The average retail price of automotive gas oil, also known as diesel, increased from N828.82 per litre in January 2023 to N1153.01 per liter in January 2024, says the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
This is an increase of 39.11 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The high cost of diesel and the epileptic power supply have been the major contributors to the high cost of goods in the market with manufacturers battling to cover their costs.
NBS, which released this report, also informed that in the first half of 2023, Nigeria imported 2.83 billion litres of the product. The volume was an increase of 49.72 per cent when compared to 1.89 billion litres in the same period of 2022.
The NBS report also shows that the country imported 11.94 billion litres of premium motor spirit (PMS) in the first half of 2023 relative to 11.56 billion litres in the corresponding period of 2022, showing an increase of 3.29 per cent.
In the period, 55.48 million litres of diesel were locally produced, a 10.5 per cent improvement on 50.19 million litres reported in the corresponding period of 2022.
It said during the same period, 26.07 million litres of household kerosene (HHK) were locally produced compared to 22.33 million litres in the first half of 2022, a growth rate of 16.79 per cent over the period.Stakeholders believe that with the commencement of production by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Nigeria will import less petroleum products.
