Price of diesel rises, price of petrol falls
Mozambique’s Energy Regulatory Authority (ARENE) has increased the price of diesel by 7.7 per cent, but cut the price of petrol by 1.7 per cent.
The price of a litre of diesel rises from 87.97 meticais (about 1.4 US dollars, at the current exchange rate) to 94.75 meticais. A litre of petrol falls in price from 86.97 to 85.49 meticais. The price of cooking gas remain unchanged at 90.01 meticais per kilo.
A statement from ARENE claimed that the rise in the price of diesel will have no impact on public transport fares “since management tools have been applied to ensure the protection of users”.
This is an optimistic gloss. In fact, whenever fuel prices rise, the owners of buses and minibuses demand the right to increase their fares.
The ARENE statement said that despite falls in the price of crude oil on the international market, the import costs (CIF) of regulated petroleum products have been increasing, which causes the real price of these products to rise.
“This situation has generated a loss-making operation for fuel distribution companies, since the price charged does not cover the import costs, and may lead to a situation of insecurity in the supply of fuel in the domestic market”, added the statement.
ARENE says it will continue to monitor prices in the national and international markets and the main variables that impact the price calculations for these products.
The new prices took effect at midnight on Thursday. They apply to the areas directly served by the ports where the fuel is unloaded (Maputo in the south, Beira in the centre, and Nacala and Pemba in the north of the country). Elsewhere the fuel distributors may add their transport costs to the final price.
(AIM)
