Insufficient dollar may lead to petrol scarcity

ayodele johnson

February 1, 2016 7:44 AM

Getting dollar for importation of petrol has become increasingly difficult, and the marketers have resorted to approaching the parallel market

Fuel Scarcity

It is predicted that the country may yet face another round of fuel scarcity based on the consistent depreciation of the naira against the dollar.

Getting dollar for importation of petrol has become increasingly difficult, and the marketers have resorted to approaching the parallel market.

According to reports, dollars now sell as high as N280 to a dollar.

Speaking on the subject, an oil market said, “Everybody is sourcing for forex; when you are lucky, you get it. But when luck is not on your side, you have to wait. Since the petrol import allocations usually lapse after three months, people often have the latitude to source for forex within the period. For example, the last allocations were given in December and so people had the latitude to source for the foreign exchange for about two months.”

READ: Government stops kerosene subsidy payment

“The essence of giving the allocations ahead is also for you to plan. For instance, if you want to bring in three cargos, you can’t bring in all at once. Maybe you bring one in the first month, the second in the next month and the third cargo in the last month".

Although the oil marketers are still importing petrol, if the situation continues, it will definitely affect delivery of the product into the country.

ayodele johnson