The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC) has expressed disappointment with the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) for raising the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) margin.
The chamber stated that this decision has triggered a ripple effect on fuel prices at the pumps, increasing the burden on the public.
In a circular, the NPA instructed industry players to increase the margin by GH₵0.05 per litre of fuel in the Price Build Up for petroleum products starting June 1, 2024. Petrol and diesel prices at some service stations rose to GH₵14.84 per litre on Tuesday, June 4, 2024.
In response to this development, the Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah, remarked that consumers are already heavily burdened by the high prices of petroleum products at the pumps, largely due to the depreciation of the cedi.
“These things simply continue to add onto the pressure that fuel prices continue to face in the country. It is quite unfortunate that we continue to add on at a time that we should be thinking of reducing prices for our people. Prices simply would end up going up because we have done an increase in some of the margins just a few days ago, not good enough”, he said.
Mr. Amoah highlighted that fuel prices should have decreased given the substantial drop in crude oil prices on the global market recently.
He contended that the decision to raise the margin is detrimental, as it negates the benefits that consumers should have experienced.
“Indeed fuel prices should have declined in the last window and this window. The cedi’s performance has been largely blamed for the prices still being where they are and very high. UPPF used to be around 45 pesewas a litre but unfortunately we’ve had to increase it and increase it. Currently we’ve also adjusted it to now 90 pesewas a litre”, he lamented.
In his criticism of the government, Dr. Amoah stated that policymakers should not transfer costs to consumers, thereby saddling the public with rises in fuel prices.
Prices go up
Several oil marketing companies have initiated price hikes for petroleum products at fuel stations.
Shell is currently retailing petrol and diesel at GH₵14.84 per litre.
However, the market leader GOIL is offering petrol at GH₵14.60 per litre, up slightly from its previous price of GH₵14.55, while diesel is priced at GH₵14.75, an increase from the former GH₵14.70. GOIL’s prices are lower compared to those of Shell.
Sources close to GOIL have informed JOYBUSINESS that this adjustment is attributed to the GH₵0.05 rise in the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) margin. The National Petroleum Authority mandated industry participants to raise the margin effective from June 1, 2024.
Some oil marketing companies have clarified that pump prices would have remained stable if the UPPF margin had not increased.
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