The price of the most sought-after grade of gasoline in Tajikistan – 92-octane gasoline – is expected to rise to 9.00 somonis (TJS) per liter in April.
Since early March, prices have risen on average 16.4 percent for gasoline, 6.5 percent for diesel fuel, and 3.1 percent for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The price for one liter o 92-octane gasoline, which is the most sought-after grade in Tajikistan, in Dushanbe has risen from 6.50 somonis on March 1 to 8.10 somonis on March 18 (24.6-percent increase), with similar price rises in other regions of the country.
Experts consider that the price for one liter of 92-octane gasoline in Dushanbe will rise to 9.00 somonis next month.
Prices for other grades of gasoline and other fuels have also risen in Tajikistan. In Dushanbe, prices have risen 2.17 percent for 95-octane gasoline (from 6.90 somonis to 8.40 somonis per liter), 8.8 percent for 98-octane gasoline (from 7.90 somonis to 8.60 somonis), and 14.7 percent for diesel fuel (from 6.80 somonis to 7.80 somonis).
In Dushanbe, the price for one liter of the liquefied natural gas has risen 7.0 percent – from 4.25 somonis to 4.55 somonis.
Tajikistan receives deliveries of the liquefied natural gas by road and rail. More than 60 percent of the country's motor vehicles use liquefied gas as fuel.
In the provinces, fuel prices have risen even more over the reporting period. Compared to Dushanbe, fuel prices in Khalton and Sughd provinces are 2.0-3.0 percent more expensive subject to additional costs. In the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), fuel prices are 8.0-10 percent more expensive compared to Dushanbe.
Thus, in Khorog, the capital of the GBAO, the 92-octane gasoline now sells at 9.30 somonis per liter.
Officials at fuel supply companies say the price hike has resulted from the rising cost of petroleum products in Russia, which provides the bulk of Tajikistan’s fuel imports and the rising international prices of oil.
Besides, the gasoline price hike has reportedly resulted from the decrease in the volume of oil refining in Russia against the backcloth of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan says that over the first two months of this year, Tajikistan has imported about 82,000 tons of petroleum products, which is 8 percent fewer than in the same period last year.
Last year, Tajikistan reportedly imported 234,000 tons of gasoline, which was nearly 37 percent more than in 2019. 35 companies were engaged in delivering petroleum products to Tajikistan last year.
