Baku, Azerbaijan, July 25
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
Smuggling of gasoline out of Iran causes damage of about $24 billion per year to the country, energy expert Mehrdad Emadi told Trend.
He said that the price of gasoline in Iran is six times cheaper than in average in the region.
Emadi added that the low cost of gasoline encourages its smuggling outside Iran.
“Instead of helping Iran’s economy, this money goes to the accounts of big businessmen and the neighboring countries in the form of subsidies,” he said.
The expert believes that this problem may be resolved by balancing the prices for gasoline and oil products and the payment of subsidies to real consumers.
“Despite the US sanctions, Iran can export these oil products to some countries, including Turkey, Georgia and China, at around 20 percent cheaper than world prices,” he said.
Emadi noted that the main obstacle to the increase in gasoline prices and gasoline’s normal export are some groups in Iran that benefit from the current situation.
The price of 1 liter of gasoline in Iran is 10,000 rials ($0.23 at official exchange rate, $0.08 at the black market exchange rate).
The US imposed sanctions on Iran in November 2018 and expanded the list of sanctions several times.