In order to reduce the gap that the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund (FEPC), the Government defined last year a plan to gradually raise the price of gasoline.
With the one in February, five months of consecutive increases in the cost of gasoline have already been completed, which add up to approximately 1,243 pesos. On the other hand, diesel has risen 57 pesos.
(You can also read: Does gasoline go up to $254 in Colombian cities starting today?)
In October, November and December 2022, the increase was 200 pesos per gallon.
In January, the average increase was 389 pesos per gallon for gasoline and 57 pesos for diesel.
And for February the Treasury announced that the price of regular gasoline presented a maximum increase of 254 pesos per gallon in some cities, while the price of diesel will remain stable.
What will be the next increases?
The idea is that month after month the Government continues to review the increase in the price of gasoline and that these increases go until 2024.
«It is projected that the price differentials will close at the beginning of 2024 for regular gasoline, and at the beginning of 2025 for the ACPM, with which the Government would ensure that the spending pressure associated with the FEPC disappears during the four-year period,» said the Ministry of Finance in the update of the 2023 Financial Plan.
According to what Juan Carlos Vélez Uribe, president of the National Federation of Fuel and Energy Distributors (Fendipetróleo) told EL TIEMPO, without subsidies to the price of gasoline in Colombia the value of the gallon could reach up to 16,000 pesos.
The purpose that the Government has said is that the price of gasoline matches the international price, but with the increases that went up to January, there is still a difference.
The price per gallon of gasoline in Colombia is still the third cheapest in the region (after Venezuela, 291 pesos and Bolivia, 9,944 pesos) and is also below the price of countries on the continent, which are producers, such as Ecuador (11,647 pesos). ), Brazil (18,087 pesos) and Mexico (23,059 pesos). In addition, it is less than half the international average price (23,691 pesos).
How are the hikes for February?
Current gasoline prices will end with a maximum variation of 254 pesos per gallon, while the ACPM price will not adjust. The increases will oscillate between 246 and 254 pesos per gallon, but taking into account the 13 main cities in the country, the increase is 232 pesos on average, reaching 10,399 pesos per gallon for February.
The Ministry of Finance warned that if it had not had the operation of the FEPC so far in 2023the prices of current gasoline and ACPM were located, on average, at more than 5,150 and 10,600 pesos above the current average sale price per gallon, respectively.
