The Vice Minister of Energy and Mines, Erwin Barrios, stated that the international price of oil has maintained an upward trend since the beginning of the year, a situation that has also impacted the increase in diesel and gasoline in Guatemala.
Barrios explained that the temporary support approved by the Government seeks to partially mitigate the cost for consumers; However, he pointed out that prices remain high due to the international behavior of the market.
The subsidy approved by Congress and in charge of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) consists of Q8 per gallon of diesel and Q5 per gallon of regular and higher gasoline, a benefit that will be valid for three months and for which Congress approved Q2 billion.
According to the official, the reference price for regular gasoline is Q43.33 per gallon, but with the Q5 subsidy the consumer pays Q38.33 in self-service mode. In the case of diesel, the discount applied is Q8 per gallon.
The vice minister indicated that the Ministry of Energy and Mines uses a five-day average of the international fuel price to establish the reference value in Guatemala, including transportation costs, tolls, insurance and storage.
First disbursement
In addition, he recalled that the subsidy began to be applied on April 28 and that the first payment to importing companies amounts to Q175.5 million, an amount that the MEM plans to disburse between May 8 and 11, after completing the corresponding administrative validations.
Barrios added that the second reference price list, valid from May 5 to 11, reflected increases of Q2.60 per gallon in gasoline and Q1.60 in diesel, derived from the international behavior of oil.
Likewise, he assured that if the service stations do not apply the corresponding prices, the population can file complaints through 1544 of the Directorate of Consumer Care and Assistance (Diaco), to carry out the respective verifications.
However, he announced that international trends reflect a possible reduction of between Q1 and Q2 in fuel prices during the next weekly update, although he clarified that the final data will depend on the international closure of the market.