Subsidy slightly clips fuel prices for November

THE government efforts to relieve Tanzanians of high fuel prices continue to yield positive results, with pump prices for November showing huge stability in the market.

In the course, the government locally has played significant role in taming the effects of global oil price volatility that would have impacted heavily on the local fuel prices.

Due to the subsidy effects, the prices for diesel imported through the Dar es Salaam and Tanga ports will go down by 31/- to 3,052/- and 34/- to 3,074/- as compared to the previous month.

According to Cap prices for petroleum products unveiled by the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) yesterday, without the subsidy the diesel prices would have shoot up by 145/- to 3,197/- in Dar es Salaam and by 149/- to 3,223/- in Tanga.

Prices for petrol in Dar es Salaam will remain unchanged in November at 2,886/- as in the previous month, while in Tanga, petrol prices declined by 118/- to 2,806/- compared to 2,924/- of the preceding month.

Nonetheless, EWURA Cap prices report shows that the government subsidy has given Dar es Salaam motorists a price relief of 110/- per litre.

For the case of Mtwara, the oil vessel is expected to offload at the end of November and therefore there was no pricing considered for the month under review.

According to the report, the changes in November prices for Mtwara reflect actual information of the vessel that was priced last month.

The prices for kerosene and petrol in Tanga decreased by 164/- per litre and 118/- per litre, compared to the previous prices because of relatively low weighted average Free on Board prices and premium charge for the Tanga port.

Motorists in Dar es Salaam Region will enjoy the lowest prices for diesels of 3,052/- in comparison o other regions, while Arusha will have the lowest petrol prices of 2,863/- than others.

Motorists in Kyerwa District, Kagera Region will have to dig deeper in their pockets by paying highest prices for petrol and diesel of 3,124/- and 3,290/-, respectively than others.

Without government subsidy, motorists in Kyerwa District would have paid 3,435/- per litre of diesel and 3,234/-per litre of petrol.

Furthermore, apart from creating market stability, the government subsidy has helped to lessen the price variabilities between the regions.

According to EWURA, Oil Marketing Companies are free to sell their products at a price that gives them a competitive advantage provided such price does not exceed the price cap and is not below the floor price for the relevant product.

On the other hand, retailers are required to sell petroleum products at the price with subsidy as indicated lest legal action will be taken against any retailer who fails to comply with these instructions.