Tanzanians will now have to dig deeper into their pockets after the government announced a 17% increase in fuel prices, largely due to the US dollar shortage.
According to Director General James Mwainyekule of the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA), the dollar increase was caused by a shortage of petroleum products, which caused a rise in cap prices, crippling importation costs into Tanzania.
“Changes in prices of petroleum products in August 2023 are mainly due to challenges in the availability of US Dollars and changes in the fuel levy, prices of petroleum products in the world market, and premiums in the importation of petroleum products,” Ewura stated as quoted by the Citizen.
As a result of these changes, the retail price of petrol will now stand at Sh3,199 (equivalent to Sh186.46) per liter, a notable increase from the previous Sh2,736 (Sh159).
The cost of diesel has also experienced an upward revision to Sh2,935 (Sh171) per liter, up from Sh2,544 (Sh148).
Conversely, kerosene has seen a marginal decrease in price, moving from Sh2,829 (Sh164.89) to Sh2,668 (Sh155) per liter.
