During 2021, the fuel prices registered increases of between 11.75 and 39.10%, according to data published by the National Statistics Office (ONE) in the “Yearbook of Economic Statistics 2021”.
Between January and December 2021, the fuel that increased its prices the most was avtur, going from 129.9 pesos to 180.7 pesos per gallon, for a variation of 39.10%. It is followed by kerosene (35.26%), fuel oil (34.27%), premium gasoline (21.83%), optimal diesel (20.72%), regular diesel (18.61%), regular gasoline (15.12) and liquefied petroleum gas ( LPG) (11.75%). Natural gas kept its price at 29.0 pesos per cubic meter.
The president of the National Association of Fuel Retailers (Anadegas), Juan Matos, told Free Journal that, in 2021, as a result of the economic recovery and the control of the pandemic, sales were boosted.
“The significant increase was due to the fact that in 2020 there was a reduction of 15 percent compared to 2019 due to the pandemic. However, in 2021, as a result of the economic recovery and the control of the pandemic, sales were boosted in these proportions,” said the Anadegas executive.
In relation to 2021 versus 2018, Matos said that the increase was no more than 13%.
Since March of this year, the government has provided more than 25,000 million subsidies to prevent real fuel prices from reaching final consumers. Only for this weekassumed a debt of 460 million dollars, thereby avoiding increases in final fuel prices.
ONE data indicates that the total fuel consumption in 2021 was 1,619,228,510.7 gallons, of which 30.4% was consumed in LPG, 18.8% in premium gasoline and 16.3% in regular diesel.
Likewise, fuel consumption increased by 40.9% from January to December. The largest increases in this consumption, by type of fuel, were: avtur (180.3%), cargo fuel oil (79.4%) and regular gasoline (52.2%), while the largest reductions were seen in fuel oil exempted to free zones ( -63.8%), kerosene (-42.7%) and diesel generation (not interconnected) (-13.6%).
Also, data from the National Statistics Office indicate that natural gas consumption was higher in November (259,671 m3) and May (317,941 m3). In addition, 43.4% of natural gas consumption was for AES-GNC electricity generating units.
In January 2022, the price of premium gasoline was 273.60 pesos per gallon. Today, the same fuel is sold at 293.60 pesos per gallon, registering an increase of 7.30%. Likewise, regular gasoline was sold at the beginning of the year at 258.50 pesos; today it costs 274.50 pesos per gallon, for an increase of 6.18%.
Meanwhile, regular diesel oil went from 204.60 pesos per gallon in January to 221.60 pesos per gallon to date, for 8.30%. Optimum diesel is sold today at 241.10 pesos per gallon, 8.06% more than in January of this year.
