It is no longer news that the prices of cooking gas and kerosene have increased from N3,000 for the 12.5-kilogramme cylinder and N130 per litre to N6,000 and N450 respectively, a 100 per cent and over 200 per cent increment respectively; but what is news is the investment opportunities the hike has created for discerning investors. One of such investment opportunities is the charcoal business.
As many people were scampering for alternative energy sources after the increase, the charcoal business has experienced a boom, which experts believed would still rise further, as the product remains the only viable alternative source of cooking that is not likely to be as expensive as the conventional ones.
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A business development strategist, Mr. Dele Aladekomo, of Easybizness Solutions, advised that with the high cost of cooking gas and kerosene, households could now save more by using charcoal as an alternative to other sources.
He explained that a family of five could use a sack of charcoal, which costs only N2,500, for about two months or more, depending on the usage. He said it remained the only cheap source of energy/heat for domestic cooking, adding that for domestic use, “all one needs is charcoal and a mini-furnace, and for the fact that the costs of kerosene and gas have gone up, a sudden prominence will be given to charcoal, which may translate into higher demand.
Charcoal business has the advantage of its supply being consistent, unlike the supply of other fuels… as a result of factors like importation delays or industrial actions
Also, once there is high demand for charcoal, owing to the swap/swing, investment opportunities have been thrown up for discerning Nigerians. It is a good idea you can adopt to create another source of income, if you are already engaged in one.
Aladekomo said, “You can now make brisk business on high patronage, coupled with the fact that charcoal is the best for cooking, because it burns blue flame like gas, which people can imbibe the culture of using for cooking.
“The increasing demand has made the business very profitable, as sellers of this product now earn more from the business. With the cost at N2,500 per bag, demand and supply chain cannot be affected as it is mostly used in bread baking industries as a source of fuel.”
The good thing about the charcoal business is that it is highly profitable and one can start the business with an initial capital layout of N30,000, as one may not need to rent a shop. All that is probably needed is a free space in front of the house to display the wares. Worried about how to source for the product? That shouldn’t be a problem. You can buy either from merchants in towns known for the business, especially in Igbo-Ora, Oyo State, or you go the bush to buy directly from those producing the charcoal, which cost less, safe for cost of transportation to your destination.
For instance, the cost of buying a bag of charcoal from a distributor is about N2,250, while you may spend about N1,900 to get one from the forest. Depending on your marketing skills, you can sell up to 55 bags in a week, especially if you target restaurants, fast foods, ‘suya or asun’ spots and bars, where either fish or cowtail pepper soup is the order of the day.
If you sell at N2,500 each, that means you earn additional N14,000 every week to your income. It is the product of an incomplete or partial combustion of carbon mainly from wood.
Aladekomo added that many people traditionally prepared it by burning wood from some particular kinds of trees, with the burning process carried out in a controlled environment, especially at the outskirts of cities, with little supply of air and for some calculated amount of time, determined by the producer.
Charcoal business has the advantage of its supply being consistent, unlike the supply of other fuels, which supplies have been inconsistent, as a result of factors like importation delays or industrial actions by local marketers.
Another attraction is that there are some special types of cooking, which cannot be done properly and traditionally without the use of charcoal. For instance, outdoor grilling of roasted meat, popularly known as ‘suya’, party barbecue or roasting of corn and plantain by roadside sellers, cannot be done except with charcoal.
Investing in charcoal, which has high demand in big cities like Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Rivers; and Kano, is a venture that is worth looking into, because a lot of people across major cities consume a lot of roasted foods like fish, corn, plantain and meat among others. Even some foreigners who own food outlets or restaurants in the country, find the use of charcoal very important in preparing barbeque or most of their local recipes.
