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Iran to ration fuel for road building and agriculture machinery to curb smuggling

Business Materials 16 November 2012 12:50 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov.16/ Trend G.Mehdi/

Iran will ration fuel for road building and agriculture machinery in a bid to help counter smuggling, ISNA quoted Deputy Oil Minister Alireza Zeighami as saying on Friday.
"Smart cards will be issued for all such vehicles," he added.

On Wednesday, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said Iran plans to ration diesel sales and mix gasoline with methanol to make it go further and accept only cash from domestic airlines for jet fuel.

Since December 2010, Iran already has successfully cut the demand for gasoline by introducing smart cards to control Iranian motorists' use of the heavily subsidised fuel, according to Reuters.

Now owners of heavy goods vehicles too will soon have their diesel rationed, Qasemi was quoted as saying by the Shana News Agency.

"The government pays huge subsidies to the energy sector which has led to the sinister phenomena of smuggling oil products," Qasemi said.

With the diesel price set at 4500 Iranian rials a litre, (about 15 U.S. cents at the open market rate), diesel costs less than bottled water in Iran which has led to wasteful consumption and a surge in smuggling, he said.

"Low prices of fuel play an important role in the rise in smuggling and that is why oil product distributor companies should increase their cooperation with security forces to curb the smuggling," he noted.

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