The oil company YPF began to implement a new price of $240 per liter of Infinia diesel for vehicles and cargo transport with foreign patentwhile controls on routes and roads were intensified to prevent fuel smuggling.
The sale at a differentiated price and border controls are part of the measures that the national government and companies began to implement to ensure a greater supply of diesel for freight transport and productive sectors.which have seen their normal supply affected in recent weeks due to the peak in demand.
Argentine distilleries do not produce all the diesel required by local demand, so in recent months up to a volume equivalent to 30% of the supply had to be imported to ensure supply at service stations and wholesale channels, in a global context of high volatility in the price of crude oil and fuels in general.
In this sense, the Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán, assured this Thursday -in statements to Radio Nacional- that “the availability of dollars for the import of diesel is 100% of what is needed”which clears up any speculation that the eventual lack of this fuel is due to the external restriction faced by the economy.
The official estimate is that the demand for diesel in the first months of the year was 20% above the same period last year and 16% above the pre-pandemic.
The controls
This Thursday, the president of YPF Pablo González was present in Iguazú in the framework of the operations carried out by the National Gendarmerie to guarantee the supply of diesel and prevent the smuggling of fuel across the border.
There were also Major Fabio Benegas, director of Criminal Intelligence; Yamil Boutet, Regional Director of Coastal Customs; Antonio Bogado, Commander Region 6; Alberto Rodríguez, Iguazú Customs administrator; Mario Montero, chief of the Iguazú Border Crossing; Marcelo Kubichen, station chief; and Diego Gorgal, Executive Manager of YPF Physical Security.
On Wednesday, the oil company ordered that passenger and cargo vehicles with foreign patents may only load Infinia Diesel in the border provinces at a differential price of $240 per liter, a measure with which it intends to discourage consumption in Argentine territory by third-party drivers. countries attracted by lower fuel prices.
The measure was already implemented in Mendoza and in the provinces of Northern Argentina and the Litoraland is added to the current provisions that exist in the cities of the border area.
This measure seeks to limit the unusually high demand associated with border and logistics consumption, where growth exceeds 30% in some parts of the country, they argued in the company.
In Jujuythe Chamber of Fuel Sellers reported that in the next 72 hours they could finish implementing the new Infinia diesel fuel loading system at a differential price of $240 per liter, as provided by the oil company.
“We are just testing the system trying to see how it can work, we want to have more clarity to apply it,” said the head of the entity, Alfredo González, who met this morning with members of the entity in order to move forward with the measure.
The vice president of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Service Stations of Corrientes (Cescor), Oscar Pacheco, today described YPF’s measure as “good” because it reserves the fuel for Argentine production.
“Our experience is that the vehicle of foreign origin, upon learning of the new amount, does not load fuel,” Pacheco told Télam about the new modality that began to be applied in the border areas of the country and added that the foreigner “goes around and he leaves”, noting that the value “is very similar to that charged in Paraguay and Brazil”.
For his part, Isabelino Rodríguez, president of the Mendoza Association of Nafta Retailers (Amena), questioned the “additional workload” generated by the differentiated price control in the sale of diesel.
“With the implementation of the new indication that the oil company has through the YPF card en Ruta, YPF is sharpening the operation so that it is implemented, and it is not only for heavy vehicles but also for light and private vehicles,” he said. the business manager.
YPF’s decision is part of a set of measures that companies in the sector, at the request of the national government, are adopting to ensure the supply of diesel throughout the country.
To do this, last week it was decided to strengthen controls at border crossings in a coordinated effort with the Ministry of Security and the National Gendarmerie to avoid a situation that has been taking place in several provinces regarding the passage of contraband tanker trucks.
The magnitude of the phenomenon is to such an extent that it is estimated that demand in neighboring provinces has doubled in recent months, making it necessary to control the legality of this increase.
Last week it was announced that YPF will increase diesel imports by 50% compared to May, going from 2 to 3 ships in June and 4 in July, in order to cover the bottleneck that is registered due to the increase exceptional demand.
The rest of the refining companies such as Axion, Shell and Trafigura will also increase their import volume, incorporating a ship in June, which will imply a considerable additional increase in the volume available on the market.
In addition, progress was made in work with the Refinor company, which operates in the northwestern part of the country, to facilitate its task in a joint effort with the company Energía Argentina and the region’s crude oil producers, to supply the volumes it needs. refinery and increase supply.
