Business

HARDSHIP: CBN Provides N100bn Fertilisers To Boost Food Production

Published

1 year ago

March 13, 2024

The Central Bank of Nigeria, on Wednesday, handed over N100bn worth of fertilisers to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to boost food production across the country.

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, handed over the 2.15 million bags of fertilisers to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, at the headquarters of the FMAFS in Abuja.

In his address at the handing over ceremony, Cardoso said one of the primary mandates of CBN was to maintain price stability, stressing that the cost of food was a crucial component of inflation.

This, according to the CBN boss, is because a substantial portion of household expenditure in Nigeria is allocated towards food and non-alcoholic beverages.

“This reinforces the critical need to address food inflation as a pivotal aspect of managing overall headline inflation rates,” Cardoso stated.

He explained that while the CBN had been implementing several measures to curb inflation in the short term, the inflationary pressures had remained predominantly driven by escalating food prices.

He, however, pointed out that while transient inflationary pressures might persist, the government anticipates substantial alleviation by the third quarter of 2024.

“This is precisely why we convene today to strengthen our collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture with a shared objective of mitigating the surge in food prices.

“In alignment with our strategic shift towards focusing on our fundamental mandate, the CBN has veered away from direct quasi-fiscal interventions, and transitioned towards leveraging conventional monetary policy tools for executing monetary policies.

“In this light, we aim to extend our support and foster closer ties with ministries, departments and agencies that bear the mandate and expertise to undertake these critical initiatives,” Cardoso stated.

He further noted that “consequently, we aim to enhance our partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, thereby bolstering your endeavours to enhance food productivity and security, and ultimately, curbing food inflation and fortifying our pursuit of price stability.

“In pursuit of these goals, we are delighted to announce the allocation of 2.15 million bags of fertiliser valued at over N100bn, which we are humbly handing over to the Ministry of Agriculture.”

Before Cardoso took over as CBN governor in 2023, the apex bank intervenes in the fertiliser market in Nigeria primarily by facilitating access to credit through programmes like the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme and the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme.

Through these programmes, the CBN encourages banks to lend to farmers at concessionary rates. This helps farmers to purchase fertilisers and other inputs.

The apex bank also supports farmers through indirect subsidy by making credit more affordable, as its interventions can lead to effectively lower fertiliser prices for farmers.

On his part, Kyari described the cost of fertiliser as the major input in any agricultural production, and lauded the apex bank for providing the commodity.

Business

JUST IN: Dangote Refinery Hikes Petrol Ex-depot Price

Published

1 week ago

June 20, 2025

Editor

Nigerians may soon pay more for petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Friday increased its ex-depot price for Premium Motor Spirit to N880 per litre, raising fresh concerns over fuel affordability and price volatility in the downstream sector.

Checks on petroleumprice.ng, a platform tracking daily product prices, and a Pro Forma Invoice seen by The PUNCH confirmed the hike, representing a N55 increase from the previous rate of N825 per litre.

The increment would ripple across the entire fuel distribution chain, likely pushing pump prices above N900/litre in some parts of the country, especially in areas far from the distribution hubs.

The hike comes despite global crude prices falling. Brent crude dipped by 3.02% to $76.47, WTI fell to $74.93, and Murban dropped to $76.97 on Friday. The decline in benchmarks offers little relief due to persistent fears of sudden supply disruptions.

The refinery has increased its reliance on imported U.S. crude and operational costs amid exchange rate instability, which adds to its pricing pressure.

On Thursday, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said his 650,000-barrel capacity refinery is “increasingly” relying on the United States for crude oil.

This came as findings showed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is projected to import a total of 17.65 million barrels of crude oil between April and July 2025, beginning with about 3.65 million barrels already delivered in the past two months, amid ongoing allocations under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude policy.

Dangote informed the Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop for the sale of crude and refined products in naira initiative that the refinery was still battling crude shortages, which had led it to resort to imports from the United States.

On Monday, the president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Festus Osifo, accused oil marketers of exploiting Nigerians through inflated petrol prices, insisting that the current pump price of PMS should range between N700 and N750 per litre.

He criticised the disparity between falling global crude oil prices and the stagnant retail price of petrol in Nigeria.

“If you go online and check the PLAT cost per cubic metre of PMS, convert that to litres and then to our Naira, you will see that with crude at around $60 per barrel, petrol should be retailing between N700 and N750 per litre.”

He asserted that if Nigerians bear the brunt of higher fuel costs, they should be allowed to enjoy the benefit of low pricing.

His forecast of increased costs now appears spot on, considering the latest developments.

Marketers are already adjusting. Depot owners and fuel distributors in Lagos and other cities anticipate a domino effect, with new price bands expected to follow Dangote’s lead.

Many had held back pricing decisions since Tuesday, when the refinery halted sales and withheld fresh PFIs. The delay fueled speculation, allowing opportunistic price hikes across various depots.

Business

Naira Appreciates At Official Market

Published

1 month ago

May 24, 2025

Editor

The Naira, which has seen steady appreciation against the Dollar all week, closed stronger on Friday, trading at ₦1,580.44 in the official forex market.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website show the Naira gained ₦4.51k against the Dollar on Friday alone.

This marks a 0.28 per cent appreciation from Thursday’s closing rate of ₦1,584.95 in the official foreign exchange window.

The local currency maintained consistent strength throughout the week, recording gains daily.

On Monday, May 19, it traded at ₦1,598.68; on Tuesday, at ₦1,590.45; and on Wednesday, at ₦1,584.49.

These gains suggest increased investor confidence and improved forex supply, contributing to the naira’s performance.

Meanwhile, the CBN, at its 300th Monetary Policy Committee meeting held Monday and Tuesday, retained the Monetary Policy Rate at 27.5 per cent.

Business

BREAKING: Again, Dangote Refinery Cuts Petrol Price

Published

1 month ago

May 22, 2025

Editor

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a nationwide reduction in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, with new prices now ranging between ₦875 and ₦905 per litre, depending on location.

The ₦15 per litre cut applies across all regions and partner fuel stations, and was confirmed via an official announcement posted on Dangote Refinery’s social media channels on Thursday.

Major marketers participating in the new pricing regime include MRS, Ardova, Heyden, Optima Energy, Techno Oil, and Hyde Energy — partners in the distribution of Dangote-refined products.

Under the previous pricing structure, Lagos residents paid ₦890 per litre, while prices reached ₦920 in the North-East and South-South regions. With the latest adjustment, Lagos now pays ₦875 per litre, while the North-East and South-South will see prices drop to ₦905.

A regional breakdown of the revised prices is as follows: Lagos: ₦875, South-West: ₦885, North-West & Central: ₦895, North-East & South-South: ₦905 and South-East: ₦905.

In its announcement, Dangote Refinery encouraged consumers to purchase fuel only from authorised partner stations and urged the public to report any cases of non-compliance via its official hotlines: +234 707 470 2099 and +234 707 470 2100.

“Our quality petrol and diesel are refined for better engine performance and are environmentally friendly,” the company said.