Kenyans Resort to Firewood as Cooking Gas Prices Increased in First Half of 2022

• Cooking gas prices increased to a record high in the first half of 2022 as the government imposed Value Added Tax (VAT)
• This saw the number of consumers drop significantly with the majority returning to charcoal and firewood
• Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) report showed consumption of cooking gas dropped to 123,150 tonnes in June 2022

The number of Kenyans using Liquified Petroleum Products (LPG) has been dropping since June 2022.

This followed a sharp rise in the prices of LPG caused by the Valued Added Tax imposed by the government and the global supply disruptions by the Russia-Ukraine war.

Cooking gas consumption

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) showed that cooking gas consumption dropped to 123,150 tonnes in the first half of 2022.

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This represented a 35% decrease from 188,850 tonnes of cooking gas used during the same period in 2021.

Cooking gas prices

Cooking gas prices went up by KSh 350 to hit a record KSh 3,330 per 13kg cylinder and KSh 1,540 per 6kg cylinder.

This prompted the return of dirty fuel and unclean energy sources like charcoal, firewood and kerosene, Business Daily reported.

The government lowered VAT from 16% to 8% resulting to a slight drop in prices, accelerated by global supply recovery and a reduction in prices of petroleum products.

Currently, a 13kg cooking gas cylinder refills at around KSh 2,250 while a 6kg gas cylinder cost KSh 1,200.

Rising inflation

Despite these slight changes, Kenyans still resort to unclean sources due to the rising cost of living.

In November 2022, KNBS reported that basic food prices increased to the highest by 15.8% compared to the previous months.

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Other commodities whose prices increased during the month were transport (11.6%), housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (7.1%).

“The consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.9% from an index of 126.73 in September 2022 to 127.86 in October 2022. The month-to-month food and non-alcoholic beverages index increased by 1.4% between September and October,” KNBS stated.

Source: TUKO.co.ke