May 25, 2022

10:05

Iury Lima – From Cenarium Magazine 

VILHENA (RO) – The fuel used to fuel long trips and the shelves of Brazilian businesses is even more expensive, according to the most recent survey by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). When the analysis is made comparing regional disparities, it becomes evident that the drivers who feel the most in their pockets are those who work or live in the North of the country, a region that includes most of the states in the Legal Amazon.

While in the city of Cornélio Procópio, in Paraná, the liter of diesel oil can be found at R$ 5.49, being the cheapest in the country; in Cruzeiro do Sul, in Acre, is where the most ‘salty’ price is: R$ 8.30.

Values at this level further aggravate the impact of inflation suffered by Brazilians, especially in the Amazon region, in the assessment of the economist and vice president of the Federal Council of Economics (Cofecon), Denise Kassama. “The logistics cost gains an increasing relevance in price increases and penalizes people with lower income, such as small producers and riverbank dwellers,” commented the expert to the CENARIUM MAGAZINE. 

However, the price escalation is not a novelty in the national territory, since the average value of the fuel reached R$ 6.94, i.e., the highest nominal value in the historical series, since ANP started the survey, in 2004.

The current price survey was conducted in 2,458 gas stations and considers a one-week period, between May 15 and 21, 2022.

All expensive

In the North Region, the survey compared the charges at the pumps of 246 gas stations and concluded that, besides the highest price registered in this historical series being charged in Acre, this is also the state that presented the highest average price: R$ 8.08. Below are Pará, with an average price of R$ 7.43, and Rondônia, with R$ 7.26 a liter.

The stations with the highest maximum prices, below Cruzeiro do Sul (AC), are in Alenquer (PA), with R$ 7.99 and Itacoatiara (AM), charging R$ 7.95 per liter. 

Ahead of all the other regions in the country, the North has the most inflated average price in Brazil, with R$ 7.22 almost tied with the Northeast, which charges, on average, R$ 7.21.

For Kassama, it is “evident that the increase in fuels, especially diesel, contributes to the general increase in prices, since everything that is produced needs to be transported to the consumer centers. This is what happens in Rondônia, for example, which uses BR-364 as the main access route to the rest of the country, either to send or receive food, products in general, and even fuels.

In Amazon, nothing legal

Acre is still in the lead, among the capitals of the Amazon: Rio Branco had the highest maximum price, R$ 7.85. Besides, all the capitals, with the exception of Palmas (TO), registered maximum values above R$ 7. The only one that did not have data recorded was Belém (PA). 

The cheapest price at the pumps, throughout the Amazon, was found in Manaus: R$ 6.55; the same capital that also registered the most reasonable average price in the region, R$ 6.84.

Is it possible to make it cheaper?

Very necessary for the road and industrial sectors, diesel oil is widely consumed in Brazil. According to the ANP, just between January and September 2021, more than 46 million liters were used by the final consumer, which was almost 10% in relation to 2020. 

This is a recurring escalation, according to the indicators, because in 2021, fossil fuel also had the highest rise in value. Another critical factor is the prices charged above the world level, according to the Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency itself. 

Denise Kassama points out that “Petrobras bases its price policy aligned with the international market, but due to the conflicts in Europe, there has been an increase in global demand, and consequently, this impact on prices,” evaluated the specialist.

“A standardization is complex, due to the logistical costs of the operation itself. More distant locations have higher logistical costs, which impacts prices,” she added about the possibility of reducing costs in a uniform manner.

Kassama also points to the fact that Brazil needs to import oils from abroad, even though it is a major oil producer. “Brazil produces 3 million barrels of oil per day and consumes 2.5 million. Even so, it imports 300 thousand barrels a day,” she detailed, indicating that the cost of petroleum, at the present moment, is a planetary concern.

Therefore, in the view of the vice-president of the Federal Council of Economics, the reduction in ICMS prices is not the best solution. “It is necessary to review the entire cost chain to assign the sales price on top of the cost price. The ICMS is the main tax collection of the states, which, in turn, pass on part of it to the municipalities. Unlike the federal government, which can compensate for any reduction in collection with other taxes,” he concluded.