By The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC) has expressed disappointment with the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) for raising the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) margin.
According to COPEC, this decision has resulted in a cascading effect on fuel prices at the pumps, increasing the financial burden on the public.
In a circular, the NPA instructed various industry players to raise the UPPF margin by GH₵0.05 per liter of fuel in the Price Build Up for petroleum products, effective June 1, 2024. Consequently, petrol and diesel prices increased to GH₵14.84 per liter at some service stations on Tuesday, June 4, 2024.
Reacting to this development, Duncan Amoah, the Executive Secretary of COPEC, stated that consumers are already overburdened by the high prices of petroleum products at the pumps, exacerbated by the depreciation of the cedi.
“These things simply continue to add onto the pressure that fuel prices continue to face in the country. It is quite unfortunate that we continue to add on at a time that we should be thinking of reducing prices for our people. Prices simply would end up going up because we have done an increase in some of the margins just a few days ago, not good enough”, he said.
Mr. Amoah highlighted that fuel prices should have decreased given the significant recent decline in crude oil prices on the global market.
He argued that the decision to increase the UPPF margin is detrimental, as it negates the benefits that consumers should have experienced from the lower crude oil prices.
“Indeed fuel prices should have declined in the last window and this window. The cedi’s performance has been largely blamed for the prices still being where they are and very high. UPPF used to be around 45 pesewas a litre but unfortunately we’ve had to increase it and increase it. Currently we’ve also adjusted it to now 90 pesewas a litre”, he lamented.
Criticizing the government, Mr. Amoah stated that the duty of policymakers is not to pass on costs to consumers, thereby burdening the public with fuel price increases.
Prices Rise
Some oil marketing companies have already begun increasing petroleum product prices at the pumps.
Shell is now selling a liter of petrol and diesel at GH₵14.84.
Market leader GOIL, however, is selling a liter of petrol for GH₵14.60, up from its previous price of GH₵14.55. Diesel at GOIL is now priced at GH₵14.75, up from GH₵14.70. GOIL’s prices are currently lower compared to Shell’s.
Sources close to GOIL informed JOYBUSINESS that the adjustment is due to the GH₵0.05 increase in the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) margin. The National Petroleum Authority directed industry players to raise the margin starting June 1, 2024.
Several oil marketing companies have explained that pump prices would have remained unchanged if the UPPF margin had not been increased.
