Uncertainty also arose among service stations, due to the fact that the implementation date was brought forward, since the authorities had announced that it would take effect on May 1. Meanwhile, some users ask at which gas stations the subsidy is already applied and how the price at the pump and on invoices should be observed.
With the entry into force of ministerial agreement 189-2026, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) established the calculation mechanism to determine the reference prices for terminal sales (ex rack) and the reference prices to the final consumer, to implement the subsidy approved in the Law of Temporary Social Support for Diesel and Gasoline Consumers.
The Vice Minister of Energy and Mines in charge of Hydrocarbons, Erwin Barrios, explained that the subsidy is only applied to fuels shipped by importers as of this Tuesday, April 28.
In the case of diesel and gasoline in stores, they are not subject to the discount that came into effect on Tuesday, and because of this there are still gas stations with normal prices, the official added. He explained that volumes are controlled when they leave the importer and considers that distributors have had to efficiently manage their inventories to promptly dispatch fuel with the reduction.
Enrique Meléndez, executive director of the Guatemalan Association of Gasoline Retailers (Ageg), explained that the implementation is not yet widespread and that it is already applied by gas stations that do not have inventory, according to the way they manage the station, although he said that the majority have not yet implemented it.
“The issue is depleting inventories, because when the public is told that the subsidy has already arrived, it generates a lot of complaints at service stations and misrepresentations as is already happening because people do not understand that this takes a process, in addition, it is difficult to sell those inventories because the price differential (between the price with and without subsidy) is very high,” he explained.
He added that the way in which the implementation of the subsidy was established generates this type of situation, which in the end economically impacts some stations, because either it is difficult for them to finish their inventories, or they will have to analyze whether they lower prices without a subsidy to be able to sell it and acquire new cargo with the subsidy.
The manager indicated that they still do not know how many of the 2,100 stations already apply the subsidy, because some have already started loading fuel with the subsidy this Tuesday, but he explained that in one day it cannot be provided to all of them; In addition, there are stations that have inventory that they bought from Monday the 27th back, without a discount.
CONTENT FOR SUBSCRIBERS
“This takes a process and will arrive in a few days,” he added, indicating that they estimate that in around two or three days, as inventories are depleted, the price for the final consumer will be standardized. But it could also take longer, since it will be necessary to see who can maintain the price without a subsidy while using up the existing fuel, because since it is not current inventory it costs more to sell it for the price.
Asked if some gas stations could lower prices, even if it is existing inventory, Meléndez said he cannot say for sure. He believes that if they cannot sell it, it could be a policy they implement, but he explained that the differential is very high and he does not know how each station will handle it.
Some users expressed doubts because the price at the pump and on the invoice already have the reduction, but the notice of the subsidy amount does not appear in the document.
In this regard, Meléndez said that this change in the invoice does not depend on the sale, but on the companies that provide the service for billing and must add the notice.
However, he indicated that this is due to the same uncertainty, since they had announced the start date for May 1, the date for which the gas stations were preparing, but they were informed on Monday, April 27, in the evening, that it would begin to be applied on Tuesday the 28th.
“Due to the same uncertainty that it was not known when this would come in, it has generated problems, because a notice like that has to be placed (on the invoice, at the moment the station runs out of inventory) and it becomes a complex situation because the three products are not regularly sold out at the same time, and that is why the sector asked to be informed in advance of the date to prepare.”
“Although it had been announced for May 1, there was no certainty about the start date to be able to prepare in a better way,” added the Ageg manager.
Regarding the content of agreement 189-2026, he said that they are still requesting information that is not in said document; Although the formula appears for how they are going to establish it, some amounts are not included, such as operating costs and others, he mentioned.
The first concern arose from the doubt about the start date, since certainty was not given sufficiently in advance about what the process and start date would be, he summarized.
The position of the MEM
When the MEM was consulted about whether the drop in pump prices is derived from the application of the subsidy or a decrease in international prices, the vice minister explained that it is due to the application of emergency support for fuels.
He added that any gas station that has received fuel subject to emergency support must sell it at the already reduced price.
Service stations that sell discounted fuel due to emergency support must issue an invoice with the corresponding note, he added. However, he said that it is possible that there are cases in which the station is leaving its reserves at a lower price; In this sense, they cannot issue an invoice with the support note.
He announced that any irregularity can be reported to telephone number 1544 or on the pages of the MEM and the Directorate of Consumer Care and Assistance (Diaco).
There is also the case of gas stations that have existing inventory, but lower the price by their own decision; In that case, they should not include the notice of the subsidy discount, the official said.
They recommend more controls
When consulted, analyst Paul Boteo, executive director of the Libertad y Desarrollo Foundation, who recently said that he did not agree with the generalized subsidy, considers that the implementation can be successful, because the sales price is monitored at the terminal and then the reference prices are placed in the different departments. However, he believes that exhaustive monitoring and control work will be necessary throughout the country to verify that what is established is complied with.
It should be verified why it has not been implemented in all gas stations or when it will be generalized; In addition, you must be very strict in monitoring, because you will be giving money to importing companies.
CONTENT FOR SUBSCRIBERS
Asked if the effect of the subsidy has been diluted with the recent increases of Q1.50 in diesel and Q2 in gasoline, the executive believes that it is not necessarily due to a malicious strategy by the companies, since the price of oil “has been too volatile in recent weeks” and changes almost with every good or negative news about the conflict in Iran, and insisted that the important thing is that the sales price at the terminal continues to be monitored.
Processes and factors
Regarding the mechanism, it was established that the MEM, through the DGH, will calculate weekly the reference price for terminal sales (ex rack) and the reference price to the final consumer of diesel and gasoline in the departmental capitals and their municipalities.
For the application of the subsidy, the fuel price structure is based on at least three elements: the price at the port of origin (with international reference prices), maritime freight and the total cost placed in Guatemala.
To achieve this, several concepts and procedures are defined in the ministerial agreement.
In this note you can consult the first reference prices issued by the MEM for the implementation of the subsidy:
The fuel subsidy comes into force in Guatemala: this is the official table of reference prices