Consumption of petroleum products has continued to drop despite favourable pump prices occasioned by recent falling of global oil prices.
Month-on-month consumption of super petrol, diesel and Jet A1 has been on a fall since January, latest data by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) shows, with April being the most hit so far.
Jet A1 consumption, which is used in the aviation industry, has had the biggest dip falling by 85.6 per cent, as the ban on international commercial flight effected on the midnight of March 25 enters its third month this Thursday.
The products’ uptake was at 7,784 cubic meters in April, falling from 54,080 cubic meters in March when the ban was effected. It was at 79,070 cubic metres in January.
Domestic air travel also came to a halt with the cessation of movement into and out of the Nairobi Metropolitan area and Coastal counties of Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale in April, further reducing consumption.
Consumption of diesel, used widely in the transport, agriculture and manufacturing sectors, dropped 26.8 per cent to 162,479 cubic metres in April from 221,891 cubic metres in March. Its uptake was 224,897 cubic metres in January.
This was occasioned by among others, suspension of long-distance travel between Nairobi, Mombasa and other destinations and reduced manufacturing activities.
Super petrol mainly used by motorists equally had its uptake fall 26.4 per cent to 113,819 cubic metres from 154,672 cubic metres in March.
This is despite the product’s pump price falling to a low of Sh83.33 a litre in May-June before rising by Sh5.77 per litre in last week’s EPRA review, to retail at Sh89.10 a litre.