EA fuel: Tanzania prices drop further, Kenya’s remains costly

 

Tanzania’s Ministry of Energy announced the further drop in prices of fuel on January 3, 2024. Effective January 3, 2024, at 12:01 am, Tanzanians began paying for cheaper fuel prices for oil from the ports of Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara.

In Dar, petrol will now retail at Tsh 3,084 (193.52) a liter while diesel will retail for Tsh 3,078 (Sh 193.14) and Kerosene at Tsh 3,510. In Tanga, the prices are Tsh  3,064 (Sh 192.26) for petrol, 3,219 for diesel and 3,556 (Sh 223.14) for kerosene. In Mtwara, the fuel will retail at Tsh 3,201 (Sh 200.86), 3,456 (Sh 216.86) and 3,582 (Sh 224.77) petrol, diesel and kerosene respectively.

“The decrease in prices of petroleum products in January 2024 is mainly due to the fall in the world oil prices (FOB) by an average of 6.03% for PMS and 7.13% for AGO and a decline in premiums for the importation of petroleum products for Dar es Salaam Port by an average of 3.72% for PMS and 17.52% for AGO and for Mtwara port, by an average of 22.71% for PMS and 22.12% for AGO,” said the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority in their press release.

This is a further drop from the prices announced in November 2023 which saw Tanzanians pay for a liter of petrol for between Tsh 3,274 (Sh 198.42) and 3,347 (Sh 202.84) while diesel will retail for between Tsh 3,374 (Sh 204.48) and 3,546 (Sh 214.90). Additionally, kerosene will now retail for between Tsh 3,423 (Sh 207.45) and 3,495 (Sh 211.81).

At the time, Kenyan motorists living in Namanga and along the Kenya-Tanzania border were in recent months been noted to be travelling to Tanzanian border towns to purchase fuel after the Kenya Kwanza government increased and introduced new taxes on fuel, shooting the cost per liter to historic highs.

Kenya’s fuel prices continue to be the costliest in East Africa. The Energy and Petroleum Authority. For the period December 15, 2023, to January 14, 2024, Kenyans will continue paying Sh 212.36 for petrol, Sh 201.47 for diesel and Sh 199.05 for Kerosene per liter. This is after a price drop of Sh 5 for petrol, Sh 2 for diesel and Sh 4.01 for kerosene. The prices continue to be at historic highs with the government recently blaming the conflict in Gaza and global inflation of the steep prices.

Towards the close of the year, Mr Davis Chirchir, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum further announced that Kenya is set

to experience another steep fuel cost hike whereby a liter of petrol could retail for Sh 300.

CS Chirchir blamed this on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the global pricing of petroleum as the reason for the Sh 83 hike.

“We cannot do anything about the global pricing of petroleum which has soared from $70 per barrel to $80 and then to $90. And I read an article recently in the Financial Times that prices are likely to go up to $150 per barrel. That would mean our products going to the highs of Sh300 per liter, but we hope it does not get there,” said CS Chirchir.

However, his position was not backed by the Central Bank of Kenya who published contrary sentiments on the price of fuel and global inflation.

“International oil prices declined during the week ending November 2, due to the dissipating impact of the war between Israel and Palestine. Murban oil price declined to $87.24 per barrel on November 2 from $90.23 per barrel on October 26,” CBK said.

CBK further reported that inflation was falling in advanced economies in the week ending November 2, 2023, further arguing against Chirchir’s position of inflation increasing and affecting the global pricing of petroleum products.

In Uganda, the cost of fuel as of September 2023 stood at UGX 4,970 (Sh 191.15) a liter for diesel while petrol retailed for UGX 5,410 (Sh 208.07).

By Winnie Mabel