The Mozambican Importer of Petroleum Products (IMOPETRO) increased the cost of the specifications for international public tenders for fuel imports by 100%, going from 20 thousand USD to 40 thousand USD, an amount that, at the exchange rate of the day, corresponds to 2.5 million of Meticais. This amount is enough to buy 28 thousand liters of gasoline at the current price of 86.25 Meticais per unit.
IMOPETRO explains that it doubled the cost to follow the trend, in general, of increases in the price of petroleum products on the international market, but in particular the cost of the specifications verified at regional level. He highlighted that 40 thousand USD is the average of what is practiced in Southern Africa, where there are countries like Tanzania where competitors pay 60 thousand USD to acquire the specification, despite the competitions in that country being monthly and not quarterly or semi-annual as has been happening in the country.
The specification is a document that contains the guidelines and references that must be respected during the execution of the service provided, in this case, the import of liquid fuels and distribution through the four ocean terminals located throughout the country.
Until June 2017, the cost of the contract was 15 thousand USD non-refundable, but in the following year, IMOPETRO increased 5 thousand USD to 20 thousand USD, an amount that was applied until June 2023, despite the crises worldwide, namely Covid-19 and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which changed the structure of oil prices on the international market.
Five years without increasing the cost of the specifications, the General Director of IMOPETRO, João Macanja, explained this Tuesday (19) to “Carta” that the measure aims to follow the trends carried out by other markets, after the increase considerable increase in the prices of petroleum products on the international market in recent years.
“We are following the dynamics of the international market. The prices of petroleum products rose and, as a consequence, in 2022, for example, the value of fuel imports grew to 2 billion USD [used to import 1.8 million Metric Tons (MT) of fuels], against 936.6 million USD [used in 2021, to import 1.5 million MT of various petroleum products for national consumption]”, explained Macanja.
Asked whether the measure would not make fuel more expensive for the end consumer, the General Director of IMOPETRO reacted negatively, justifying that the fuel adjustment is made based on specific regulations and the cost of the specifications is not a factor taken into consideration.
However, for the Secretary of the Mozambican Association of Petroleum Companies (AMEPETROL), Ricardo Cumbe, the measure affects competing companies, especially those that lose the tender because it will be an investment with no return, as the value of purchasing the specifications is not refundable.
As for the company that wins the competition, Cumbe minimized the possibility of it passing on the cost to the end consumer, because, as he suggested, for a business that moves millions of USD, 40 thousand USD could be a drop in the ocean.