DUSHANBE, July 25, 2013, Asia-Plus — An agreement on duty-free Russian oil product deliveries to Tajikistan will be ratified along with other Tajik-Russian government-to-government agreements that are considered to be a package of documents.
Deputy Minister of Energy and Industry, Poulod Muhiddinov, stated this at a news conference in Dushanbe on July 24.
We will recall that the Ministry of Energy and Industry (MoEI) of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation signed a memorandum on the conditions for the delivery of Russian oil products to Tajikistan in Dushanbe on October 5 last year.
Tajik Minister of Energy and Industry, Gul Sherali, and Russian Minister of Energy, Alexander Novak, signed an agreement on duty-free Russian oil product deliveries to Tajikistan in Moscow on February 6, 2013.
“This agreement is part of a package of documents signed between Tajikistan and Russia. To know details of this and other agreements of this package you should apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because this package is within its competence,” Muhiddinov said.
We will recall that Tajikistan was exempted from paying Russian tariffs on oil and gas exports from 1995-2010 and Russia cancelled Tajikistan’s tax exemption on May 1, 2010 that resulted in gasoline prices rising in the country. A sudden spike was reported in May 2011, when export duty for Russian gasoline rose 44 percent as compared with April.
Over the first half-year of 2013, Tajikistan’s fuel imports have totaled 183,194 tons (14,300 tons more than in the same period last year), including 60,400 tons of gasoline (18,100 tons fewer than in the same period last year), 66,900 tons of diesel fuel (18,800 tons more than in the same period last year), and 34,900 tons of jet engine fuel (8,500 tons more than in the same period last year).
In June, gasoline and diesel prices reportedly decreased slightly in Dushanbe and remained unchanged in Khujand (Sughd) and Qurghon Teppa (Khatlon) markets.
In the first half-year of 2013, Kyrgyzstan has reportedly accounted for 40.8 of Tajikistan fuel imports carried out over the first six months of this year though it does not produce oil products itself and fully depends on fuel imports from Russia. Over the first half-year of 2012, Kyrgyzstan accounted for only 3.3 percent of Tajikistan’s fuel imports.
Over the same six month period, Russia has accounted for 40 percent of Tajikistan’s fuel imports while last year, it accounted for 61.9 percent of Tajikistan’s fuel imports.
Meanwhile, the Government of Kyrgyzstan on May 17 signed an executive order putting a one-year ban on re-export of Russian duty-free fuels to other countries. Kyrgyzstan justified the decision as aimed at preventing critical fuel shortages and rising prices in the domestic market. The ban does not apply to oil products produced in Kyrgyzstan itself. Kyrgyz oil products may be delivered to Tajikistan both by road tankers and rail cars.
