Big Profits for Oil importers

Independent analysts as well as the Georgian media report that lately oil importers have been receiving huge profits due to the increasing price of petrol and diesel. Analysts point out that this tendency is damaging for the Georgian consumer – when world oil prices rise, the cost of petrol and diesel in Georgia goes up immediately. But when world oil prices fall, the prices at the pump do not gone down accordingly. The newspaper Rezonansi mentions that the price of oil on the world market two years ago was similar to the price today, but the price on the petrol in Georgia then was 10 tetri less than today. The high cost of fuel is seriously damaging to the Georgian economy – it increases transportation costs and consequently the prices of commodities. High fuel costs also affect the agricultural sector as high diesel prices make it difficult for farmers to purchase fuel and use machinery.