By YANGE IKYAA
Unlike other industries and economic sectors that were negatively impacted during lockdowns occasioned by the global Coronavirus pandemic, the lockdown rather caused an increase in household the consumption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in Nigeria.
According to data from Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA), Nigeria remained one of the fastest growing LPG markets during global pandemic lockdown, with domestic LPG consumption rising by 55 percent from 900,000 MT in 2019 to 1.4 million MT in 2021.
The association did not elaborate on the reasons why LPG consumption rose by more than half within the period under review, but is believed that the indoor stay for many families meant that the demand for energy to cook and feed may have caused the spike in LPG use in the country.
This massive growth led to higher demand for new equipment supply, while placing the country in first position inWest Africa and one of the leading LPG consuming nations in the entire continent.
As a result of this, the importation rate also doubled, with more than 71% of Nigeria’s cooking gas supplies imported from outside the country to fulfill domestic demand.