Fuel prices go up for the fifth time this year

SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, DEC 06 -
Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has hiked petroleum prices for the fifth time this year. The state-owned monopoly jacked up the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene by Rs 3 per litre each effective from Monday. Similarly, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has become dearer by Rs 75 per cylinder.

Petrol now costs Rs. 88 per litre, diesel Rs 68.50 per litre, kerosene Rs 68.50 per litre and LPG Rs 1,325 per cylinder.

NOC said that a rise in international prices and increased road maintenance and upgrading charges levied on petrol and diesel by the government had forced it to raise the rates. The government recently doubled the road maintenance and upgrading charge on petrol to Rs 4 per litre and on diesel to Rs 2 per litre. NOC managing director Digambar Jha said that the international price of crude oil was US$ 74 per barrel in July when NOC last revised fuel prices. “The price has risen to US$ 90 in the last five months.”

Similarly, the price of LPG in the international market was US$ 590 per ton in September which soared to US$ 783 in December, Jha added.

The price hike means NOC will collect monthly profits of Rs 30 million from petrol, Rs 110 million from kerosene and Rs 30 million from aviation fuel. However, the corporation will be incurring monthly losses of Rs 200 million on LPG and Rs 140 million on diesel. “In total, we will be losing Rs 170 million each month,” Jha said. NOC said the government’s decision to double the road maintenance charge had added Rs 28.44 and Rs 11.56 to the price of a litre of petrol and diesel respectively. The government will now be taking in Rs 180 million each month as road maintenance charge. Similarly, the government will be collecting Rs 149 on each cylinder of LPG.

Prem Lal Maharjan, chairperson of the National Consumers Forum, said that the government’s decision to double the road maintenance charge was not reasonable. “The government is fuelling inflation when consumers are already suffering from double-digit price rises,” he added.

“Everyone knows about the condition of the roads. The government is collecting Rs 20 million each day in the name of road maintenance, but it has been doing nothing,” Maharjan said. “The hefty tax levied on LPG shows how the government is increasing the burden on the people.”




Year Petrol Diesel Kerosene LPg
(Rs/Lt) (Rs/Lt) (Rs/Lt)
2003 56 33.50 27 700
2004 62 41 36 750
2005 67 46 39 900
2006 67 52.50 47.65 ----
2007-Oct 73.50 56.25 51.20 1,100
2007-Dec 80 56.25 51.20 -----
2008 100 70 65 1,200
2008-Dec 85.50 60.50 60.50 -----
2009 77.50 57.50 57.50
2010-Feb 77.50 59 59 1,250
2010-Mar 80 61 61 -----
2010-Apr 82 63 63 -----
2010-July 85 65.50 65.50 -----
2010-Dec 88 68.50 68.50 1,325