Private fuel distributors are preparing a new increase in Paraguay after a surge in international oil costs. The adjustment could come this weekend, while Petróleos Paraguayos (Petropar), Paraguay’s state-owned fuel company, is keeping current prices for now, supported by inventories purchased before the escalation.
Adolfo Martin, president of the Paraguayan Chamber of Fuel Distributors (Cadipac), said his company would apply an imminent increase and that the sector has been accumulating losses because of the difference between replacement costs and prices at the pump. Víctor Yambay, president of the Association of Owners and Operators of Service Stations and Related Businesses (Apesa), also confirmed the pressure on margins.
Miguel Velázquez, an Apesa representative, calculated that regular diesel is sold at private retail stations for about G. 8,290 to G. 8,490 per liter, while wholesale replacement costs have already reached approximately G. 9,200. Without including importer, distributor and station margins, that difference would indicate an initial adjustment of up to G. 800 per liter. Another sector representative, Miguel Bazán, estimated an increase of G. 600 to G. 800 for diesel and G. 450 to G. 550 for gasoline.
The figures do not represent an increase officially announced by all companies. Each distributor decides based on its inventories and costs, and some have already raised prices in the previous week. The claim that the increase will occur uniformly has not yet been confirmed.
At Petropar, President William Wilka said the cost of bringing diesel to Paraguay is around G. 8,510 per liter. The calculation uses an international price of close to US$ 1,230 per cubic meter in September, compared with US$ 610 in February. The state-owned company is maintaining current prices thanks to the so-called inventory effect—that is, the existence of fuel purchased earlier at lower prices.
Petropar’s current prices are G. 8,290 for Diesel Porã, G. 10,300 for Diesel Mbarete, G. 6,990 for Kape 88, G. 7,490 for Oikoite 93 and G. 8,840 for Aratiri 97. Wilka said the situation will be reassessed every two weeks and did not rule out an increase when the older inventories are replaced.
The pressure follows international instability. On September 11, Brent closed at US$ 104.61 per barrel after reaching US$ 109.97 during the session, while WTI ended at US$ 100.50. The daily decline did not eliminate the risk of further increases amid attacks in the Middle East and reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The impact could quickly reach transport, freight, agriculture and food. In metropolitan public transport, fuel accounts for about 40% of the fare structure, according to the Center of Passenger Transport Business Owners of the Metropolitan Area (Cetrapam). The sector says it pays approximately G. 8,000 per liter, above the roughly G. 7,000 included in the fare structure, and warns that between 15% and 20% of the fleet stopped operating at certain times during the previous increase.