The National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chief Chinedu Ukadike, has said that the pump price of petrol will hit N750 when the exchange falls to N1,000 to $1.

He made this known in an interview with The Punch that fluctuations in foreign exchange have a direct influence on the price of petrol and urged Nigerians to brace up for the possible rise of pump price to N750.

He explained that oil marketers were still sourcing dollars from the parallel market, as according to him, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) Importers and Exporters official window was illiquid.

Ukadike said, “Nigerians should brace for a price regime of between N680 to N720 if the exchange rate stays around N910 to N950/$, but the price is going to hit N750 once the dollar rises to N1,000.

“Other manufacturers who import one thing or the other are also searching for dollars. So, the surge for dollars has continued to increase. So now that the dollar is hitting N910 to N940, and approaching N1,000, you should expect to buy PMS at the rate of N750/litre.

“It is simple mathematics, once the dollar is going up, have it in mind that the prices of petroleum products would definitely increase because the products are dollar-driven,” he said.

He added that, “this is because marketers still source dollars from the parallel market, and not only marketers but virtually all importers in Nigeria. There is no subsidy any more on petroleum products, so you expect the cost to fluctuate with the dollars.

“Once there is a slack in the naira against the dollar, there is going to be an effect. The demand and supply of forex is a key factor. We should also understand that it is not only petroleum products that use forex.

“NNPC is like the sole distributor of petroleum products now, so once you see a change in the price of petrol at their outlets, then other marketers will implement it.”

He also said that because of the high exchange rate, private importers were finding it difficult to continue to import petrol.

Ukadike said, “NNPC is still the major importer for now. One other company, Emadeb, imported products recently, but because this product is being sold in naira, getting back their funds is another issue since the naira keeps depreciating, while PMS imports are in dollars.

“This is why it is often difficult to go back and buy again as an independent importer. That is the problem we are facing.” (New Telegraph)

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