OMCs sacrificing a lot to keep fuel price below GH¢7 – Oil Marketing Association

Kwaku Agyemang-Duah, CEO of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies, says Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are making a lot of sacrifices to keep the price of fuel in Ghana below GH¢7 per litre.

According to him, with dealers barely compromising on their margins and the government maintaining all its taxes on petroleum products, the marketers are forced to reduce their margins to keep the price of fuel lower than it should be.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Agyemang-Duah said the actual price of fuel in the country should be around GH¢ 7.5 for petrol and GH¢ 7.47 for diesel.

“Even if you look at our projections, if we are going with our 100% marketers margin and dealers margin, we should be selling for about GH¢7.5 for petrol and diesel GH¢ 7.4%. As we speak, a lot of them don't have their full blow margins on it. They have really reduced their margin,” he said.

He noted that should there be any need or demand for lower prices, it can only come from the reduction of taxes on petroleum products.

There are about seven taxes and levies imposed on petroleum products in the country, which culminates into about GH¢2 per litre.

Most oil marketing companies in Ghana currently sell fuel around GH¢6.90 per litre. One of the leading oil marketing companies, Goil on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, announced that it was out of its own volition reducing the price of fuel to GH¢6.84.

Kwaku Agyemang-Duah said such a gesture means Goil is sacrificing its marketers’ margin and noted that such a move is not sustainable as the company may incur huge losses if it goes on with it for a long time.

“What it means is that Goil may be losing their marketers’ margin. If this goes on for a long time, Goil will be losing heavily… Anybody who is below GH¢7 is really sacrificing heavily,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) believes fuel in Ghana should not sell for more than GH¢6 per litre if the government effectively manages the sector.

According to its Executive Director, Nana Amoasi VII, many of the variables that influence the price of fuel in Ghana are within the control of the government, either directly or indirectly.

---citinewsroom