7 News Belize

PM Commits To Lower Fuel Price
posted (September 28, 2017)
Fuel prices - no matter where you live in Belize, and no matter how much money you make, those pump prices are a killer!

And that's why the Chamber of commerce sent out a release yesterday saying that taxes on fuel are too high.

Well, today the Prime Minister said that those prices are coming down by mid-October. For background he explained that the inconsistency in supply form Venezuela has forced costly last minute purchase, but that will be regularized once Petrocaribe comes back on stream:...

Rt. Hon. Dean Oliver Barrow- Prime Minister
"Precisely because of the instability of the supply that we were getting from Venezuela. What would happen was that at the very last minute, we would be told the amount that you ordered, Venezuela can't find. It caused, then, the importer to have to scramble to make last minute purchases to make up for the significant shortfalls. The last-minute purchases are at a higher rate than if you plan and if you place your volume orders well in advance. The last-minute purchases also meant that you had to, as well, scramble to put in place transportation arrangements that you would not have in fact agreed at the time you initially placed the order because you didn't know that Venezuela would not be able to fulfill the order. So, it is that combination of factors that resulted in this extraordinary spike in the prices. So, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the price will come down for the mid-October shipment. I know there is this little saying that if I promise you something and it doesn't happen I will eat my hat. I will do better. If, as a consequence of what I am saying, we still don't see any reduction in prices then government will eat a part of the cost. Government will lessen its stake, which it has not increased, which has been fixed, we'd have to lessen its stake until matters can be rebalanced so that I can deliver on what I am saying here today, which is that the prices will go down with the October 15th, 2017 shipment."

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