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Consumers turn to charcoal as kerosene price rises

By on August 11, 2016

Charcoals sellers in FCT are now smiling to banks due to recent increase in the price of Kerosene.

The price of kerosene in the area has risen from N50 to N300 per litre.

Some charcoal sellers in Abuja said on Wednesday that they were now making huge profits.

Mrs Chiamaka Odo, a seller in Orozo Market, said that charcoal business was now booming because residents who could not afford kerosene for cooking were now using charcoal.

According to her, sellers did not make as much profit before when a kerosene bottle was sold at between N70 and N100.

“Since the price of kerosene was hiked from N50 to N220 per litre by the NNPC, I sell more charcoal than I used to sell before and also make lots of gains.

“Before I used to buy five to seven bags of charcoals which I hardly finish selling them before the month end, but now I finish these quantities before two weeks,’’ she said.

Odo said that although she was making profits in the business, but the price she bought the product had also increased from N1000 to N1,500 per bag.

She said that she used to sell a ‘mudu’ measure of charcoal at the rate of N50 before, but now the price had gone up to N100 per a mudu.

She said she was now making between N20, 000 to N25, 000 gains monthly.

Odo listed the current rains, lack of funds to increase her business and scarcity of log for making the charcoal in FCT as the challenges she faced in the business.

David Tanko, another charcoal seller at Karu Market, said that he was happy for kerosene price hike as it had forced many people to use charcoal as means of cooking foods.

Tanko said that when kerosene and cooking gas were cheap, not more than 20 persons patronised his business daily, but many people were now coming to buy charcoal from him.

“My brother, the current economic hardship in Nigeria has made many people to use charcoal as an alternative, even rich people, who were using gas or kerosene before, now patronise the product.

“Honesty, I am happy for the situation because before my business was not moving, but now if I buy a bag of charcoal before a week, I will finish selling it,’’ Tanko said.

He listed shortage of capital, high cost of shops and the raining season as some problems preventing him from display his wares in the open.

Mr Peter Magaji, another seller in Karishi, expressed happiness for the turn of events in the charcoal business in the FCT.

According him, the rise in price of gas and kerosene favoured charcoal traders as “we are selling more now and also making a lot of profits”.

Magaji said that he would have loved to scale up his business in a big way, but this had not been possible due to lack of money.

He called on the Federal Government to make loans available to small scale businesses like him.

(NAN)