Key petroleum products marketers in Nigeria have reportedly struck a deal with notable global gasoline suppliers to bring in products that are far more cheaper than what is presently available at retail outlets.
Reports has that the deal will lead to selling Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also called petrol at about N700 per litre.
An impeccable source close to the deal confirmed to our correspondent that the landing cost would be at about N650 per liter.
Petrol retailer associations are jolted with the deal and are positioning their businesses to thrive with alternative sourcing of products.
National president of Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, while speaking on alternative products sourcing said, marketers are keen to make procurement of products from the international market.
He said, this has become a surviving situation for them as Dangote refinery price fluctuations have crumbled their business.
“We want predictive market information that allows marketers to plan and project investment.
“We are currently indebted to banks because we buy products and before it gets to our retail outlets the price has changed and we incur losses.
“So we want refineries to work and give us supply, then we import when their products are high and then depot owners will keep their depot open and marketers will have open market operations,” he said.
He warned that, if the situation is not well managed, queues will return. This, he said, is because most marketers cannot buy products after incurring losses.
“I have an allocation as of today but I cannot buy it because I don’t have the money.
“The ones procured from Dangote refinery is becoming bad business because we buy at a particular rate and suddenly before we exhaust the products the refinery would crash the price.
“We are gradually being forced out of the market, so we are engaging our foreign partners to bring products that are more affordable,” he said
