There will not a demand for "Premium" gasoline in a few years, expert

Baku/02.06.21/Turan: Economist Natiq Jafarli commented on today's increase in the price of premium gasoline in an interview with the Turan agency program "Difficult Question".

According to him, the conjuncture of the world market influences domestic prices, but monopoly contributes to the rise in prices much more.

“The market is closed for third-party sellers, they are not allowed there. It is significant that this applies not only to the wholesale trade in fuel. There are various gas station networks operating in Azerbaijan and prices are the same in all. However, the picture is different in neighboring Georgia. There, the prices at the gas station are insignificant, but they differ, because the owners of gas stations buy gasoline from different wholesalers,” Jafarli said.

The economist noted that in Austria, for example, premium gasoline costs 1.25 euros. The average salary in this country is 3.600 euros. In Azerbaijan, the wholesale price for "premium" is 70 eurocents or 1.4 manats, and the average salary is 690 manats (345 euros).

Taxation also affects prices. In European countries, taxes on petroleum products are direct, but in our country, they are included in customs duties.

Jafarli stressed that high-quality oil products, including gasoline, are not produced in Azerbaijan, which has been producing and refining oil for decades.

The reason is that this requires modern technologies and serious investments. In fact, SOCAR's Turkish subsidiary produces premium gasoline.

“We are 15 years late. Today we are thinking of launching premium production, and in developed countries, work is underway to create new, higher-quality fuels. Moreover, the global auto industry is moving towards abandoning internal combustion engines. In a few years, the "premium" will be unclaimed," the expert concluded. -0-