Fuel prices are increased due to several factors, including oil product price on the international markets, the exchange rate and excise tax, - said Shavleg Mishveladze, Deputy Executive Director of the Georgian Business Association (BAG).
According to Mishveladze, international market prices break all records. As he notes, when fuel price is increasing, the main blow comes to the companies.
"We know the data on the GEL exchange rate and excise tax, which is not changed since 2017.
The most difficult challenge for companies is to mobilize two-fold expensive working capital. At the same time, they are not able to reflect the increased prices rapidly, and with a thousand manipulations this process is prolonged”, - Mishveladze said.
According to Deputy Executive Director of the Georgian Business Association, when the price of particular product rises in the world market, you need more GEL to buy it.
“When a product is increased in USD, what will you do? You will grow the selling price in the chain. When you have an expensive imported product, which is stored here and the price of this product has decreased in the world market, what will you do? You cannot reduce it immediately; you will decline it gradually after the updated supplies.
It cannot be in the interest of the oil company to make the fuel more expensive. Our companies are just conductors, they buy fuel on world exchanges and import.
Specific agencies are responsible for the excise tax. If the excise tax is halved, we will get a difference of about 15-20 tetri, and on the other hand, the state budget will be reduced by 300 million”, - Mishveladze stated.
