Baku, Azerbaijan, May 10
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: The volume of gasoline imports has hit a record high in Iran since the implementation of the subsidy reform plan in the country in September 2010.
In the second Iranian calendar month of Ordibehesht, some 10 million liters of gasoline has been imported on average per day, Iran's Fars news agency reported on May 10.
Gasoline consumption in the past Iranian fiscal year, which ended on March 20, 2015, rose by 1.8 percent compared to its preceding year, while production fell by 4 percent year on year, according to the report.
Gasoline production amounted to 65 million liters per day on average in the past Iranian fiscal year. The figure has decreased to 59 million liters per day since the beginning of the current fiscal year. Long maintenance operations at the Shazand Refinery due to several incidents, was one of the main reasons. So, no euro-4 gasoline is being produced in the country.
The subsidy reform plan envisages removal of subsidies on food and energy gradually, and allocation of a portion of the amount saved to people and industry.
The price of semi-subsidized gasoline across Iran is 7,000 rials ($0.222 based on the exchange rate of US dollar at the free market), while the free market price is 10,000 rials ($0.317 ).
Daily gasoline consumption in Iran hit 72.5 million liters in the week ended on May 1.
The country's gasoline output is currently around 62 million liters, so it needs to import the rest.