DMEA: Kenyan cooking gas prices soar

Kenyan citizens have been forced to “dig deeper into their pockets” to buy cooking gas, the cabinet secretary for energy and petroleum, Davis Chirchir, said during a meeting.

Liquefied petroleum gas prices have spiked in October due to a simultaneous increase in petrol prices, with Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) revising pump prices to KES217.36 ($1.45) per litre of petrol and KES205.47 for diesel.

In turn, cooking gas cylinder prices have risen to KES1,200 ($7.98) for a single refill, up from KES950 in September, according to a spot check by TUKO.co.ke.

One cooking gas dealer told the news outlet, "The sudden hike in cooking gas prices is a result of an increase in petrol prices. Remember, the gas cylinders are transported from the storage facility to the retailer ... so, there is an increase in transport cost that needs to be taken care of."