PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI. – The Service Station Owners Association predicts a worsening of the fuel shortages affecting Haiti today due to the drop in the amount of imported fuel.
Its President, Marc André Derifonce, expressed concern about the small amounts being asked of the companies that manage the importation of these products, stating that this could be related to the difficulties in accessing dollars.
“The US currency is not only expensive but also becoming increasingly scarce,” he told reporters.
From January to date, the national currency has depreciated more than 33 percent, so it now takes more pumpkins to buy dollars. The exchange rate is also penalizing oil companies, Derifonce assured.
VARREUX TERMINAL REDUCES VOLUME
Varreux, the country’s main oil terminal, almost halved its fuel shipment volumes from an average of one million gallons a day in July to 500,000 in August.
In addition, two of the oil majors have not placed any orders for the next shipment, which is expected to arrive at the port in mid-August with 60,000 barrels of diesel and 32,000 barrels of kerosene, equating to about six days’ consumption, according to Le Nouvelliste newspaper.
Two months after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, the government opened up the oil market to solve frequent crises due to fuel shortages.
However, experts note that the situation has worsened and periods between rationing have been reduced, while informal market prices are tripling official prices, leading to an increase in the cost of services and the basic food basket.