Petrol truckout declines by 35% due to partial border closure -PPPRA

By Etuka Sunday

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) said has observed with keen interest the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) supply trend since the partial closure of the country’s border, as indicators point to the gradual reduction in the volume of PMS trucked out.
According to statistics, records from various depots nationwide for 5th to 11th August 2019 stood at about 61 million litres, representing the average daily volume trucked out before the border closure.
The General Manager, Corporate Services, PPPRA, Kimchi Apollo in a statement said, the Agency observed from the data obtained between the 12th and 18th August 2019, a drop of about 35% in volume trucked out from the previous week, which could be attributed to the reduction of activities at various facilities during the Sallah holiday.
However, from the 19th to 25th August 2019, which falls within the period in which the borders were partially closed, the Agency recorded an average daily truck out figure of about 57 million litres which falls below the daily average figure for the week 5th to 11th August 2019.
Similarly, from 26th August to 1st of September 2019, 371.82 million litres of petrol was trucked out, averaging a daily figure of 53million litres. This represents a decline of about 4million litres when compared to the previous week.
Available data from the Agency, indicates that the downward trend continued from 2nd to 8th September. The daily average truck out figure for that week was 50.22million litres, indicating a further reduction of 2.9million litres.
The high truck-out volume recorded before the partial closure of the nation’s borders could be attributed to the seepage of petroleum products across the border, coupled with the widening fuel price arbitrage with neighbouring West African countries.
While the downward trend in the consumption pattern is a welcome development, the Agency assures stakeholders that efforts are being made not only to curb the smuggling of products, but to ensure that petroleum products are available in the country.