In Brazil, diesel is 25% more expensive compared to 169 countries

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With the increase of 19% in gasoline and 25% in diesel, announced by Petrobras a week ago, Brazilians rushed to the gas stations to fill up their vehicles before the higher price reached the pumps, creating huge lines all over the country.

Truck drivers have also threatened to stage shutdowns, generating fear of what the country experienced in 2018.

After the price increase at the refineries, data from the ANP (National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels), released on March 14, showed that the average price of a liter of gasoline reached R$6.68 (US$1.33) in Brazil; and diesel, R$5.81.

In the ANP’s weekly survey, the most expensive fuels in the country were found in Bahia, reflecting the privatization of Petrobras’ refinery in the state: in Eunápolis, the liter of gasoline reaches R$8.77, and in Ilhéus, diesel reaches R$7.57 a liter.

The question for Brazilian consumers is: is the liter of gasoline and diesel in Brazil much more expensive than in other countries?

BRAZIL: 85TH OUT OF 169 COUNTRIES

Thinking about this, InfoMoney compared the diesel prices in 169 countries and territories, in dollars and reais, using the data from the globalpetrolprices.com website and the quotation of US$1 = R$5.13.

In the gasoline comparison, the price per liter in Brazil is 89th among 170 countries and territories. And the conclusion for diesel is similar: we are in the middle of the table, 85th out of 169 countries, tied with Panama.

The price of diesel here is similar to that of countries such as Georgia (R$5.77), Panama (R$5.82), Namibia (R$5.88), and Morocco (R$5.92). The average price per liter in Brazil (R$5.82 or US$1.14) is even below the world average (R$6.46 or US$1.26).

The cheapest diesel among the countries analyzed is in Iran (R$0.05 per liter), which remains one of the world’s major oil producers despite US sanctions. Next comes Venezuela (R$0.13), which has the cheapest gasoline in the ranking.

At the other end are the principality of Monaco and the city of Hong Kong: in both places, the liter of fuel costs R$13.04. Hong Kong also has the most expensive gasoline (R$14.77 a liter) and Monaco, the second most expensive (R$12.71).

Being one of the world’s largest producers and exporters, Russia has the 12th cheapest liter of diesel: R$2.30 (the fuel is a little more expensive there than the R$2.21 for gasoline).

Brazilian diesel (R$5.82) is more expensive than in neighboring countries such as Ecuador (R$2.58), Bolivia (R$2.78), Colombia (R$3.15), Argentina (R$4.57), Paraguay (R$5.20), and Chile (R$5.55).

But it is cheaper than in Peru (R$6.29), Uruguay (R$6.50), in the other BRIC countries – India (R$6.07), China (R$6.20), and South Africa (R$7.33) – in the USA (R$6.94) and practically all European countries.

Globalpetrolprices.com points out that “there is a substantial difference in these prices between countries.” “As a general rule, richer countries have higher prices, while poorer countries and oil-producing and exporting countries have significantly lower prices.”

“A notable exception is the US, an economically advanced country with low prices,” the text accompanying the data states.

The website highlights that “the price differences between countries are due to various diesel taxes and subsidies. All countries have access to the same oil prices on international markets but decide to impose different taxes.”

With information from InfoMoney