The Ministry of Finance announces that on Thursday, February 3, 2022, the pump price of two fuel products will change.
The prices of premium gasoline and regular gasoline will change as follows: Premium gasoline will increase by 43 cents, from $12.30 to $12.73 per gallon. Regular gasoline will increase by 18 cents from $12.10 to $12.28 per gallon.
The prices for kerosene and diesel will remain unchanged at $8.79 and $11.56 per gallon, respectively.
There's been no announcement from government - but 7News has learned that tonight at midnight - fuel prices will be increasing again.
According to our sources, premium will go up by 17 cents, to a whopping $12.90 per gallon in the city. Kerosene will also increase by 93 cents to a punishing $9.72 per gallon in Belize City.
Customarily, these prices changes are accompanied by a government release but that hasn't happened this time.
Government Drops Stealth Bomb on Consumers - Unannounced Hike in Diesel Price
Cabinet is on a cozy retreat in the Cayo District - but tonight at midnight they planned to drop a stealth bomb on consumers - again without notice.
7News has learned that the price of a gallon of diesel is going up by 50 cents when the clock strikes 12:00.
That will bring the price of a gallon of diesel in Belize City to a punishing 12 dollars and eight cents per gallon.
Yesterday the Prime Minister said that a new shipment of fuel arrived a few days ago and that the price per gallon of diesel would have gone up by a dollar - but the government chose to absorb it. We now assume he meant to say that they absorbed half.
And, the other half would have gone un-announced - just like the last increase - which was also not accompanied by a press release:
Fuel prices are on the rise, and it is expected that those figures will go even higher before consumers will see a decline. This is because the world prices are already up and, with the conflict between Ukraine and Russia; the implications are that within a few weeks, inflation of fuel and other imported commodities is inevitable. PM Brice�o has said that the government needs to collect on its fuel taxes and despite G.O.B. absorbing a recent hike in the cost of diesel; ultimately, taxpayers will feel the brunt of it. Today, Minister of Transport Rodwell Ferguson reiterated that higher fuel prices will come.
Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Transport
"You might say okay let us reduce the taxes on fuel, but I think the Prime Minister said in previous encounters that we have gotten a broken economy and we are trying our best to rebuild it back to where it was. And we have committed now to teachers and public officers that come July first; we are going to restore back their ten percent. So our Belizeans need to be patient. I think we have a government that is working to improve the living conditions of all Belizeans, but it can't happen overnight."
The Ministry of Finance announces that effective today, March 24, 2022, the regulated pump price of regular gasoline is now prescribed at $13.50, representing an increase of 66 cents compared to the last shipment Belize received.
Not only is this increase entirely attributable to the acquisition costs of the product but in order for the price to be kept at this level, the Government reduced all levies on regular fuel by 29 cents.
As Hon. John Brice�o, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, has explained in recent public statements, the Government is in the process of establishing a Fuel Stabilization Mechanism which is expected to provide some level of price predictability while protecting fiscal targets in the national budget.
The ministry is also actively engaged with various stakeholders in the pursuit of certain burden sharing initiatives that can contribute to price stabilization, and eventually, price reduction. In this regard, the Government has been emphatic with Belize's principal fuel importer, Puma Belize Ltd., about the imperative of competitive acquisition and pricing.
Recently, in the case of diesel fuel, the Government reduced the tax component by $1.17 in order to keep the price of that product at $13.41. This tax reduction alone represents, on an annualized basis, a loss of $17 million of anticipated budget revenues.
Countries over the world are enduring fuel price surges as a direct consequence of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Though future prices are impossible to predict, the Government of Belize continues to examine all viable policy options for minimizing the fuel price shock, balancing as best as possible between the twin demands of affordable pump prices and budgetary steadiness.
There is oil under Belize on the mainland that can be pumped and refined in-country for in-country use. Why has this not been pursued? Not offshore, no pipelines., no environmental damage. It could be a 100% Belizean product for use in country. Never near or reefs. Never exported in tanker ships. no danger to our waters.
The Ministry of Finance announces that effective April 1, 2022, the regulated pump price of diesel remains at $13.41 per gallon in Belize City with prices being slightly higher in the districts reflecting transportation costs.
The most recent shipment of diesel received this week brought with it a further increase in acquisition costs. However, to maintain the pump price at the current level, the government reduced all levies on diesel by 76 cents per gallon. This is in addition to an earlier reduction in taxes of $1.17 that took effect on March 12, 2022. Thus, the total reduction in taxes on diesel this month now stands at $1.93 per gallon.
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