The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has projected a 4% rise in petroleum product prices at the pumps beginning July 16, 2024.
This increase is attributed primarily to the depreciation of the cedi against the dollar, with the exchange rate shifting from an average of $1.2779 to $1.462.
This change is expected to affect the prices of petrol, diesel, and LPG.
According to COPEC’s analysis, the new mean retail prices for petroleum products will be GHS14.795 per liter for petrol, GHS15.332 per liter for diesel, and GHS16.205 per kilogram for LPG.
“Retail price of petrol is expected to increase by 3.75% of the current mean pump retail price,” stated Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of COPEC.
Similarly, diesel prices are projected to rise by about 4.69%.
COPEC highlighted that the international price of petrol has risen from $816.61/MT to $843.00/MT, a 3.23% increase, while diesel’s international price has gone up by 1.80%, from $788.32/MT to $792.32/MT.
LPG has seen a more significant increase, with international prices jumping by 12.20%, from $477.80/MT to $536.11/MT.
Consequently, “a 14.5 kg LPG cylinder could be expected to be sold at GHS234.97,” Amoah added.
COPEC has urged the government to consider reducing taxes on petroleum products to alleviate the financial burden on consumers.
They emphasized the importance of reducing taxes on LPG to promote its use and help protect the environment from the detrimental effects of firewood usage.
Additionally, COPEC has called for the reactivation of the Tema Oil Refinery to reduce dependence on imported finished products and mitigate issues related to fuel contamination.
