Business

Russian autogas is back at Ukrainian petrol stations – expert

Author: Yulia Kiris

While last year’s influx of cheap liquefied natural gas imported from Poland and the Baltic states was relatively quickly curbed by legislation, it is now extremely difficult to do so, experts say.

Customs officers are no longer able to find out the origin of this fuel and immediately bring Russian resellers to the cleaners. That’s because now, according to the documents, suppliers do not resell autogas, but send their own product with the EUR.1 certificate, which means they do everything by law. This was stated in a commentary fuel market expert, director of the A95 Consulting Group, Sergiy Kuyun.

Cheap fish makes bad soup

Today, the expert says, autogas supplied under this scheme is 20% cheaper. For a certain period, it will restrain the overall price increase for this type of fuel in Ukraine. However, the consequences of price fixing for the Ukrainian economy will be disastrous.

“Such a scheme will destroy the supply system of high-quality imported autogas. It simply won’t be competitive, and contracts will be cancelled. We see that the enemy has learnt from its mistakes and is now acting differently. Poland is the largest importer of Russian gas. They have learnt how to mix it there. Moreover, they have learnt to forge European quality and production certificates for this gas. Now, the craftsmen have obtained producer licences and have become European producers, so they don’t have to show what raw materials they use to make their products,”

– said Sergiy Kuyun.

The SBU sanctions should help to remove Russian gas from Ukraine, he believes. In the meantime, a large number of Ukrainian drivers will continue to fill their cars with the enemy’s fuel.

As of 29 January, the average retail price of autogas at petrol stations was UAH 27.54 per litre. The price has only recently stabilised after Polish farmers unblocked the border with Ukraine. Almost a third of Ukraine’s imports of motor gas come through this border.