DUSHANBE, October 18, 2013, Asia-Plus — Over the past two weeks, gasoline prices have risen 3-5 percent in Dushanbe, with similar price rises in other parts of other country. The liquefied gas prices have reportedly risen some 12 percent over the report period.
The price of one liter of 92-octane gasoline has risen from 6.20 somoni in early October to 6.40 and the price of one liter of liquefied gas has risen from 2.70 to 3.30 somoni.
Specialists from the Ministry of Energy and Industry (MoEI) attribute the liquefied gas price hike to the fact that one of Kazakhstan’s largest gas-processing plants has been closed for seasonal repairs.
Current price for one ton of liquefied gas is 850.00-860.00 USD, while in the past summer the price for one ton of liquefied gas was 650.00 USD.
It should be noted that more than 50 % of Tajikistan’s transportation now uses liquefied gas due to high gasoline prices.
Experts from a MoEI say fuel prices will continue to rise in the future as well.
Meanwhile, an expected reduction of Russian export tariffs has not occurred yet.
By Russian government’s decree an export duty on dark and light oil products for October has been raised. The export duty on light oil products, except gasoline, has been raised from US$264.40 per ton in September to US$274.80 per ton. An export duty on Russian gasoline has been raised from US$360.60 per ton in September to US$374.70 per ton.
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.
On October 5 last year, the Ministry of Energy and Industries 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.
Tajik Minister of Energy and Industries 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.
Under this agreement, the sides consider and endorse the indicative fuel balance for the next calendar before October 1 of each year. Fuels delivered in addition to the indicative fuel balance will be liable to export duty.
Russian oil products delivered to Tajikistan in the volumes not exceeding those agreed on indicative balance are not subject to re-export to the third countries. This ban also applies to Russian oil products delivered to Tajikistan from other member nations of the Customs Union.
Under the indicative fuel balance endorsed for 2013, Russia is expected to deliver one million tons of oil products with 70 percent of them being gasoline and diesel fuel, free of duty to Tajikistan this year.
Russia has not yet ratified this agreement.
Meanwhile, the monthly report for October 2013, Monitoring and early Warning in Tajikistan, says that in September, gasoline and diesel prices increased in Khujand and remained the same in Dushanbe and Qurghon Teppa.
From January through August 2013, the average price of imported oil products was 1,051 USD per ton, a drop of 7.2% when compared to the same period in 2012. During this period 248,400 tons of fuel of all types were imported, 2,900 tons more than in the same period last year. A total of 95,700 tons of diesel fuel were imported at 1,022 USD per ton, and 85,700 tons of gasoline at an average price of 977 USD per ton.
