In the past 24 hours gasoline prices in Tajikistan’s capital raised by almost 15%. Only yesterday, May 20, in the first half of the day one liter of AI-95 gasoline was sold at a price of 3 Somoni 40 dirams ($0,7) and this morning it grew up to 4 Somoni ($0,9). Meanwhile, gasoline prices are keep growing and it is not clear when they will stop.
Only yesterday the Tajik Anti-Monopoly Service warned that due to the increased export duty for light oil products (gasoline, diesel fuel and kerosene) exported from Russia wholesale fuel suppliers can artificially create fuel deficit at Tajik oil market or unreasonably raise fuel prices. Tajik Anti-Monopoly Service has set up special working groups to prevent such situation in cities and regions of the country.
Head of the Department of Information, Recordation and International Relations Elena Rahimova told the AP that wholesale suppliers and businessmen dealing with fuel supplies in Tajikistan have enough reserves and should not use the existing situation for unreasonable rise of prices and incomes. “In other words, the existing reserves should be sold at prices which were observed before May 1 this year,” she said.
Oil suppliers refrain from any comments on the given situation. “Comments on the rise in gasoline prices will be presented on Monday May 24,” Gazprom Neft – Tajikistan company, which supplies 33% of oil products to Tajikistan market, told the AP.
Meanwhile, Tajik expert Shahobiddin Zieyev believes that oil suppliers usually use such situations to raise prices. “Businessmen think only how to speculate such situations,” he said. “They never care that growth in fuel prices automatically causes the growth in prices for all other products.”
He added that related governmental structures, namely the state anti-monopoly service, should urgently interfere into this situation and turn the prices to their previous level.
Zieyev added that other countries, even Russia, conduct emergency governmental meetings attracting related structures in case of such situations.
