Charcoal dealers make huge sales in Enugu

Charcoal sellers are now making huge sales in Enugu, as most residents of the city have virtually dumped their kerosene stoves.

The high cost of kerosene, which currently sells for between N350 and N400 per litre in Enugu, has forced most families to jettison their kerosene stoves, opting for charcoal stoves instead.

Besides, the recent upsurge in the price of cooking gas, which makes the refilling of a 12.5kg-gas cylinder to cost between N5,000 and N5,500, has somewhat made cooking gas unaffordable to many users.

Newsmen who visited the New Market — the hub of charcoal trade in Enugu — observed that most families now buy sacks of charcoal that could last them for months.

A charcoal seller in the market, Mr Jude Okechukwu, said that although the price of charcoal had risen from N2,200 to N3,600 per sack; the patronage still continued to soar by the day.

He said that the mounting patronage stemmed from the fact that an average family of five could use up to 20 litres of kerosene in a month for their cooking.

“So, the family spends over N8,000 on kerosene in the month.

“On the other hand, a bag of charcoal will last for two months, no matter the pressure of use, for the same size of family,’’ he said.

Another seller, Mrs Obioma Chukwurah, said that she sold out her stock of charcoal during the Yuletide, as most families bought the commodity in large quantities.

“We have continued to experience good and profitable business since last Christmas.

“We are still waiting for truckloads of charcoal supply from the rain forest in the South-South region and I have sold out nearly all the stock in my warehouse,’’ Chukwurah said.

Chief Chidi Nwoke, one of the leaders of charcoal sellers, said that apart from the increase in sales, induced by high price of kerosene and gas; charcoal, because of its environment-friendly nature, remained preferable to other forms of domestic fuel used for cooking.

“Charcoal is less dangerous, compared to other cooking means, and it cooks meals faster; no matter the size of the pot or quantity of what is being cooked.

“Besides, incidents such as kerosene stoves catching fire and kitchens or entire buildings going up in flames as a result of gas cylinders’ combustion, are all ruled out when using charcoal to cook,’’ he added.