BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 5
Trend:
There is no basis today for increasing gasoline prices, First Vice Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Murat Zhurebekov said, Trend reports citing Kazakh media.
According to Zhurebekov, the price of gasoline in Kazakhstan is stable.
“We looked at the statistics for the last three years. The price of gasoline has risen by 15 tenge ($0.035) from 63 to 179 tenge ($0.15 - $0.42). It depends on the region. It is clear that the price of gasoline in Atyrau will be lower on logistics costs compared to Almaty. But, in general, today we have no reason for the rise in gasoline prices,” he said.
“The second thing I want to say is that the state, either represented by the Ministry of Energy, or by any other state body, government does not regulate gasoline prices. The gasoline price is regulated by the market. It is clear that the market is volatile; it is influenced by industry news, rise in oil prices. Of course, some participants can use this factor to their advantage. But we are monitoring the prices, and our task is to exclude any factors that would lead to a shortage of fuels and lubricants on the market, and, accordingly, to an increase in prices,” Zhurebekov said.
“There is a large disparity in prices for fuels and lubricants compared to other neighboring countries. For example, in Kyrgyzstan the price per liter of RON-92 amounts to 289 tenge ($0.68), in Uzbekistan - 323 tenge ($0.76), in Russia - 287 tenge ($0.67). Of course, we are seeing such a high consumption of gasoline, in particular in the border regions,” he said.
“We cannot close the borders, we cannot restrict and not sell to our neighbors, because we are in very close economic relations. Therefore, the issue of price disparity comes first. We are working on it. In this matter, we need to find a balance in order to exclude the smuggling of gasoline to neighboring countries, ‘gray’ exports (goods imported into the country with understated tariff payments due to inaccurate declaration). In the near future, in accordance with the instructions of the president, we will provide a set of measures and proposals on how to resolve this issue,” Zhurebekov explained.
