Vehicle owners will have to fork out a bit more from their pockets to purchase fuel following an increase in retail prices for petrol, kerosene and diesel across the country.
The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (“ICCC”) hereby announced the new retail fuel prices for this month, which took effect on Friday, 8th January, 2021.
“For this month, the Indicative Retail Prices (IRP) for petrol, diesel and kerosene will all increase on average, throughout PNG”, said ICCC Commissioner Paulus Ain.
These increases in the retail prices for petrol, diesel and kerosene have mainly been attributed to the increase in crude oil prices during the month of December, 2020.
The average oil price increase was mainly due to the easing of lockdowns following the second wave of Covid-19 which led to increased oil demand from Asia. Furthermore, the price increase is also reflective of the increases in the domestic wholesale and retail margins for fuel products in 2021.
The domestic retail fuel prices for this month are inclusive of the Import Parity Prices (IPP), domestic sea and road freight rates for the first quarter of 2021, the annual wholesale and retail margins for 2021, excise duty, and Goods and Services Tax (GST).
According to the ICCC’s calculations, retail fuel prices for petrol, diesel and kerosene will all increase right across the country.
PORT MORESBY
As a result of adding all the various cost components mentioned above, the maximum retail prices for fuel in Port Moresby are as follows:
| Port Moresby Retail Prices (toea per litre) | |||
| Petrol (tpl) | Diesel (tpl) | Kerosene (tpl) | |
| Retail Prices as of 8th January, 2021 | 299.27 | 259.94 | 230.25 |
| Retail Prices as of 8th December, 2020 | 283.19 | 242.82 | 210.88 |
| Price Variance (+/-) toea per litre | 16.08 | 17.12 | 19.37 |
Retail prices in all other designated centers will change according to their approved in-country freight rates and their respective retail margins for 2021.
ALL CENTRES
For all centers, the maximum retail fuel prices for each petroleum product in the country will change on average as follows:
- Petrol prices will increase by 16.07 toea per litre;
- Diesel prices will increase by 16.36 toea per litre; and
- Kerosene prices will increase by 18.62 toea per litre.
As part of the ICCC’s enforcement and compliance of fuel prices, its Investigation Officers will conduct inspections at all service stations to ensure prices of petroleum products do not exceed the allowable maximum prices. The following ICCC officers will conduct compliance inspections in Lae, Mt Hagen, Kokopo and Port Moresby. Inspections in other provinces will be supported by our contacts in those provinces. Please note:
- Mr. Christopher Gabesoa, Mr. Seri Tau Vali, Mr. Dennis Jerry and Mr. Bill Boiu will conduct compliance inspections to all service stations in the National Capital District. They can be reached on telephone number 325 2144;
- Ms. Pamela Ipambonj, Mr. Allen Monyomb and Mr. Timothy Ponau will conduct compliance inspections in Lae. They can be reached on telephone number 472 2859;
- Mr. Bobby Tei, Mr. Roman Rosting and Mrs. Dorcas Baining Julai will conduct compliance inspections in Kokopo, Rabaul, Kerevat, Warangoi and Toma. They can be reached on telephone number 982 9711; and
- Mr. Kevin Kondo and Mr. Jeffery Khar will conduct compliance inspections in Goroka, Kainantu, Kundiawa and Mt. Hagen. They can be reached on, following mobile numbers 7369 8251/ 7232 4861.
The prices set by the ICCC are the indicative maximum retail prices, for which retailers may choose to sell below the ICCC approved maximum price. The ICCC would like to remind retailers who sell fuel-using pumps to set fuel prices to one decimal place while the ICCC will continue to set the maximum price to 2 decimal places.
No fuel pump operator should charge above the Indicative Retail Price for this month’s price regardless of the number of decimal places. This is to ensure compliance with the Prices Regulation Act under which the maximum prices of refined petroleum products are set. Retailers who are displaying prices to 1 decimal place are urged by the ICCC to round the prices down to ensure prices are within the allowable indicative retail prices. ICCC Inspectors will continue to conduct spot checks after 8th January, 2021, to ensure on-going compliance by retail fuel operators.
Consumers are advised to report any instances of overcharging by retailers through the ICCC’s Consumer Protection Division on 325 2144, on toll free number: 180 3333 or by contacting our Regional Offices closest to you on the numbers provided above.
