The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has urged the government to take immediate action to prevent a price increase in petroleum products.
Prices of gasoline and diesel at various pumps increased marginally on October 1, 2021, with major oil marketing businesses selling at GH6.50 for petrol and diesel.
However, COPEC’s Executive Secretary, Duncan Amoah, believes that if the current trend continues, fuel prices at major pumps could exceed GH7 per liter if price-control measures are not put in place.
“Fuel prices are now approaching GH7 per liter. Some large corporations are currently trading at above GH6.50, thus any further hikes in the next days or weeks might drive the price per liter over GH7. Duncan Amoah told Citi Business News, “That is dreadful.”
In addition to avoiding a fuel price spike, COPEC urged the government to conduct a review of petroleum products.
According to Duncan Amoah, this will relieve the burden that taxes have already imposed on the typical Ghanaian.
“Our crude exports are expected to cost $57.8 a barrel in 2021, according to government projections. Crude oil is currently trading above 80 dollars per barrel. So, in the plus-minus game, the government is actually making a lot more money than it had anticipated in its budget.”
“Yet the taxes we imposed on the trotro driver at 46pese, when crude was 30 pesos, are still being collected today, although crude has increased by more than 50 pesos. This is horrible, and the sooner the finance minister and authorities sit down and examine the tax system on our fuel rates, the better for everyone,” Amoah added.
Meanwhile, the rise in petroleum products has been attributed to worldwide market prices as well as the influence of the coronavirus pandemic on oil demand.
The price of oil on the worldwide market is currently around 80 dollars per barrel, up from 50 dollars per barrel at the start of the year.
As a result of the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions and the implementation of coronavirus vaccination programs, worldwide demand for oil has reached a peak.
