2023-10-28 21:26:33
This Friday, extensive lines of cars to load fuel were reported at numerous service stations in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) and in various cities in Argentina due to the lack of fuel supply, which intensified throughout of the week.
At the end of the day, many service stations might be seen with long lines of cars. Situation that was observed in stations on the main avenues of Buenos Aires and the Buenos Aires suburbs. On Saturday morning the problems continued, while closed pumps were reported at some stations in the City.
The lack of gasoline and diesel motivated the meeting that the Secretary of Energy, Flavia Royon, held this Friday with the refining companies: YPF, Shell, Axion and Puma Energy. The amplified shortage in recent days collides with a wish of the candidate and Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa: that there be no price increases until the runoff. In fact, at the meeting there were no definitions on the issue, despite the fact that there are only four days left until the freeze ends. Only the import of 10 fuel ships was agreed to supply the service stations.
Since the freezing of fuel prices at the end of August, only YPF managed to keep its values at the pump practically unchanged, with the exception of the 3% increase last Monday. The rest of the refiners applied at least three 2.5% increases, which further increased the price gap between YPF and its competition. Only in the City of Buenos Aires (CABA), in some stations there is more than $30 difference per liter of gasoline, while in the interior, the gap is greater.
YPF has a 55% market share in fuel delivery, with demand growing even more as the price gap widens.
This week, in addition, other problems occurred for the company that is 51% controlled by the State, following the Ministry of Commerce also restricted access to dollars to companies controlled by the State, due to the shortage of reserves. . At least three tankers had to spend time on the coast until YPF sent them the payment dollars, as Bloomberg revealed on Thursday.
Given the fuel shortages, the Confederation of Hydrocarbon and Related Trade Entities of the Argentine Republic (Cecha) and provincial associations of stationers requested the National Government “to arbitrate the measures leading to regularizing the situation raised, adopting all the means at its disposal. , which allow oil companies to regularize the supply of service stations”. “We all need fuel and right now we do not have enough to meet the demand. A prompt solution is urgently needed,” they asked.
Likewise, the business entity clarified that service stations “have no influence on the lack of an adequate supply of fuel” and that the problem of shortages “has been deepening in recent times.”
“What began with dispersed stock shortages in specific regions or areas has quickly generalized with greater intensity to all products, throughout the country,” they added.
For their part, the Argentine Rural Society (SRA) and Argentine Rural Confederations (CRA) warned that “the lack of diesel would cause potential losses that producers cannot face, especially following a historic drought that still continues in various areas.”
“That is why the competent authorities must take action on the matter so that the supply is normal and agricultural production can develop with certainty,” they indicated in a statement.
The Confederation, Federations, Associations and Chambers joined the alerts and pointed out that “the dispersed stock shortages in specific regions or areas have been quickly generalized with greater intensity to all products.” He reiterated that service stations have no influence on the shortage: “Our activity consists of making the entire volume in our establishments available to customers, and we are now unable to have the necessary quantities due to factors totally beyond our control. This puts jeopardizes the survival of our businesses and means that consumers have to travel between different service stations to be able to supply themselves with the necessary fuel.
The institution asked the national government to “arbitrate the measures leading to regularizing the situation at hand, adopting all the means at its disposal that allow oil companies to regularize the supply of service stations.”
Likewise, the situation is repeated in other parts of the territory. For at least a week now, several residents of La Plata have reported on
The same was seen in Mendoza during the week, with a particularly worrying situation in the town of General Alvear, where there are total stock shortages in all types of fuel to the point that all YPF flag stations began the day closed. as compiled by the regional newspaper Los Andes. The situation worsened over the course of the week and reached this Friday where motorists stand in eternal queues and wait hours and hours in the hope that the replacement truck will arrive and they can load a few liters.
With information from La Nación of Argentina
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