Competition Agency: import of gasoline, diesel up 7.2% in Georgia in 2021
The largest company on Georgia’s fuel market is Rompetrol, with the share of the three largest companies amounting to 45 percent, the report said. Photo: Rompetrol Georgia/Facebook
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Georgia imported 1,453,707 litres of gasoline and diesel in 2021, marking a 7.2 percent increase compared to the previous year, an annual report of the Georgian National Competition Agency reads.
Diesel fuel accounted for 45.7 percent of total imports, while for gasoline the figure was 54.3 percent and the largest originating countries were Turkmenistan with 22.1 percent, Russia with 19.2 percent and Romania with 18.2 percent.
In related numbers, the Agency also said the increase in the number of gas stations in Georgia by about 272 units since the beginning of 2015 was mainly due to the entry of new economic agents into the local market and the activation of the small network segment.
It also said the total share of the five major economic agents operating in the retail fuel market was 58.8 percent, while the total share of other companies was around 41.2 percent as of 2021.
In 2021, there was a change in the composition of the five largest companies operating in the [fuel] market. The entry of a new company into the top five [economic agents] is a positive circumstance in terms of assessing the competitive environment in the market,” the report reads.
The largest company on Georgia’s fuel market is Rompetrol, with the share of the three largest companies amounting to 45 percent, the report said.
The Agency also called on the economic agents operating in the local market, as well as sectoral associations, to refrain from announcing future fuel prices regardless of whether those statements were based on ongoing processes in the international market, saying the speculation could be considered a breach of the competition law.
The Agency noted the increasing number of gas stations in the country affected retail prices.
The Georgian Economy Ministry expects a potential decrease in fuel prices through importation of the product purchased at cheaper rates, Minister Levan Davitashvili said on Monday.
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The Georgian National Competition Agency will look into the upward trend of fuel prices in the country following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and submit an interim report this month, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced on Monday.
The trend of price increases in Georgia is mainly caused by supply disruptions and record-high fuel prices, Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili said on Wednesday, calling the trend a “challenge any Government faces”.
A reduction in fuel prices in Georgia is expected following the inspection of the market by the Georgian National Competition Agency, Levan Davitashvili, the country’s Economy Minister, said on Monday.
Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Tuesday said the Government was considering the possibilities of obtaining fuel supply for the local market from "cheap sources" and minimising the margins in orders, in an effort to ensure affordable local fuel costs.
In the first four months of the year, the largest volume of fuel in Georgia was imported from Romania with 31.2 percent of the share, followed by Bulgaria with 24.1 percent and Russia with 17.8 percent, an interim report of the Georgian National Competition Agency reads.
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Georgia’s Economy Ministry on Thursday cited Minister Levan Davitashvili as saying the Government expects domestic fuel prices to “significantly decrease” by the end of this month.