During the first three months of the year, consumers paid Q9,755 million for the import of petroleum products, which represents an increase of 15.3% compared to the same period last year, according to the update of official figures.
This means that there is no savings and that buyers who demand these energy products have allocated more resources to meet their consumption.
Statistics from the General Directorate of Hydrocarbons (DGH) of the Ministry of Energy and Mines indicate that, in the first quarter of 2026, the oil bill reached US$1,275 million (Q9,755 million), higher than the US$1,105 million in 2025, which represents a double-digit increase.
Guatemala is an importer of 100% of these refined products, which include diesel, gasoline, propane, turbo jet fuel, aviation gasoline, bunker, greases and lubricants, solvents, among others. These are recorded by the DGH in the cost of import, consumption and sales, as well as by the importing companies.
In 2025, the bill closed at US$4,428 million, which represented a saving compared to 2024.
Oil imports rise 80% in March
When making a comparison between March and February (monthly), the increase in the cost of imports is 80%, when the international geopolitical conflict began in the Middle East, which generated global uncertainty and impacted international prices for a barrel of oil. In Guatemala, continuous increases are reflected in the prices per gallon of diesel and super and regular gasoline.
In March alone, the total cost of imports was US$600 million, higher than what was reported in February, when it reached US$332 million, and in January, US$341 million, which was the observed trend.
The figures indicate that in March additional foreign currency could have been paid for about US$267 million, which could be associated with the nervousness of the international oil market.
According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, The monthly average price of a barrel of oil in March was US$88.80, higher than that of February, which was US$64.51, and that of January, which was US$60.04..
Meanwhile, the average nominal exchange rate was Q7.66 in March and February, and Q7.67 in January.
Diesel leads increase in import costs
When comparing the inter-monthly statistics by product, it stands out that there was an upward variation in the cost of importing diesel with 143%, regular gasoline 113%, super 38% and propane 30%.
For example, In diesel, US$258 million were paid for imports, higher than US$105 million in February; for the regular, US$98 million in March, more than the US$46 million in February; for the super, US$79 million, more than the US$57 million of the previous month; and for propane, US$105 million, higher than the US$80 million in February.
March increase favors tax revenues
Although there was an impact on consumers in March due to the rise in refined products, statistics from the Collection Administration of the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) indicate that there was a favorable position.
The report estimating the effect of fuel prices on foreign trade collection indicates that it was Q196.1 million in March and reverses the negative trend registered in February, when it was Q45.6 million, and in January, Q71.38 million.
This means that tax collection improves due to the prices observed in March.