In August, the daily volume of gasoline supplies from abroad increased by 30%, reaching 4,870 tons per day. If this pace is maintained, then by the end of the month the volume of imports may reach 150,000 tons, writes Forbes.
The increase in the excise tax, which is planned for September, is part of the measures envisaged by the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility program and aims to bring excise taxes into line with EU standards. With this in mind, August has become a month of active increase in imports, as market participants are preparing for the September increase in excise duty.
“Although retail sales remained largely unchanged in August, companies significantly increased supplies on expectations of higher excise taxes”, — said a representative of one of the networks.
The demand on the domestic market was mainly satisfied due to the increase in imports from southern directions, in particular from Greece. In the first 18 days of August, companies imported 19,400 tons of gasoline, which is 10,800 tons more than in the same period in July, according to “A-95” data.
In the western direction, gasoline purchases from Germany and Poland increased, while imports from Lithuania decreased. Shipments from Poland increased from 11,100 tonnes to 17,400 tonnes, largely due to increased rail supplies from the Orlen terminal in Zhuravica. Direct imports from Germany increased by 5,800 tons to 12,900 tons, with most of this volume being imported by major Ukrainian chains from the Holborn Refinery in Hamburg. At the same time, supplies of gasoline from Lithuania decreased by 3,900 tons, to 9,100 tons, due to the reconstruction at the terminal in Motzkava, which led to the absence of shipments during August.
If such supply rates are maintained, the total volume of gasoline imports in August may reach 150,000 tons. However, according to forecasts, the actual import figures for this month will be around 120,000-130,000 tons.
