- Cooking gas prices hit unprecedented levels in Kenya with spiralling crude oil prices in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine added to the imposition of value-added tax (VAT) and the greed for higher margins by the dealers.
Kenya will import 30 percent of cooking gas through National Oil Corporation in a bid to curb the price of LPG which has hit an all-time high. It is hoped that the move will force private importers to lower the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and ultimately retail prices.
Cooking gas prices hit unprecedented levels in Kenya with spiralling crude oil prices in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine added to the imposition of value-added tax (VAT) and the greed for higher margins by the dealers .The 13-kilogramme cooking gas retails currently cost Sh3,400 against Sh2,250 in June before the government imposed the 16 percent tax at the start of the new financial year pushing it out of reach of many households. According to the official data from the 2019 census, 53 percent of households urban centres rely on LPG for cooking compared to 5.6 percent of those in rural areas.
The role of the National Oil Corporation is to stabilise and influence fuel prices that has been at the mercy of the market controlled by private players. Though petrol, diesel and kerosene prices, are adjusted on 15th of every month and stay in place for one month, cooking gas prices are not controlled. Nation Oil is expected to strengthen the government’s control on gas prices.
Originally, the corporation was mandated to import 30 percent of the country’s petroleum products, including LPG. But the government opened the import market to private firms in the 1990s.
Read More;
https://trendsnafrica.com/rising-external-debts-dents-kenyas-growth-outlook-for-2022/
https://trendsnafrica.com/kenyans-protest-against-creeping-inflation/
