Fuel prices rise

Mozambique’s Energy Regulatory Authority (ARENE) on Friday announced an increase in the prices of fuels, of up to almost 20 per cent, taking effect on Saturday.

The sharpest rise is for LPG cooking gas. The price of a kilo of gas rises from 85.53 meticais (1.34 US dollars at the current exchange rate) to 102.02 meticais. This is an increase of 19.28 per cent.

The price of a litre of diesel rises by 11.4 per cent from 78.97 to 87.97 meticais. For petrol the increase is only 4.4 per cent, from 83.3 to 86.97 meticais a litre. This is the first time that diesel has become more expensive than petrol at Mozambican filling stations.

The price of a litre of kerosene rises from 71.48 to 75.58 meticais, which is an increase of 5.74 per cent.

At a Maputo press conference on Friday, the chairperson of the ARENE board, Paulo da Graca, said the price increases are the result of the growing cost of the acquisition of fuel on the world market.

He added that the price increases would have been higher, were it not for the mitigation measures taken by the government earlier in the year. The government had reduced assorted taxes and fees involved in importing fuel. Graca said the government had sacrificed state revenue in order to keep fuel prices at a tolerable level.

Graca promised “we shall continue to accompany the evolution of fuel prices internationally, and whenever necessary, we shall share our information”.

The fuel importing companies say the country has accumulated reserves that will last for 22 days.

ARENE says that Mozambique still has the cheapest fuel in the southern African region. This means that truck drivers from neighbouring countries, such as South Africa and Zimbabwe, cross the border simply to fill up their tanks in Mozambican filling stations.

(AIM)