BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 10
Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
A rise in fuel prices has become one of the reasons for double-digit inflation in Georgia, which has affected the prices of many other products, Trend reports via Georgian media.
Compared to the same period of last year, in August gasoline prices rose by 52 percent and diesel by 44 percent.
Out of 305 items included in the consumer basket, gasoline ranked 11th and diesel 13th. Out of the 5 branded filling stations, only SOCAR has reduced prices.
According to Vano Mtvralashvili, Chairman of the Union of Oil Products Importers, SOCAR's decision is caused by the brand’s policy and not by the cheap Azerbaijani fuel. In Mtvralashvili’s words, SOCAR imports only EURO 4 standard diesel fuel from Azerbaijan as well as imports EURO 5 diesel and gasoline from Europe.
Mtvralashvili believes that the main reason for price hikes is the platts price where the price of a ton of gasoline exceeds the pre-pandemic levels by $100 and reaches $743 that was caused by a faster recovery in global demand than in supply. Given all this, prices are most likely will hike in the near future than decline.
In the last 4 months, the lari has strengthened by 10 percent that was not enough to stop the rise in gasoline prices.
The pandemic is not over, but fuel imports to Georgia have increased by 4 percent compared to the same period of last year, and by 10 percent compared to 2019. Real consumption declined in 2020, although companies purchased excess gasoline to replenish supplies at low prices.
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