After the increase in the price of diesel and supergas that began last Monday, the Minister of Industry, Energy, and Mining, Fernanda Cardona, hit the ground running: "Some political actors need to shake off their anger," she said. And she took the opportunity to weigh in on the Budget discussion in Parliament: "We have to let them work." In other words, they shouldn't be falling on her while all this is being decided. The curious thing is that it's not just the opposition that's making noise; unions like the Rural Federation and the Inter-Union of Professional Land Freight (ITPC) are also up in arms, speaking of "surprise and concern." They say the increase "creates tension and directly affects the price chain," in addition to leaving everyone in a bad mood.
The numbers are pretty clear: in September, 50 S diesel increased by 4.28% (now at $50.14), 10 S diesel increased by 3.74% ($57.14), and the 13-kilo canister of supergas shot up by 9.52%. Gasoline was the only one that went down, a miracle. Super 95 fell by 0.66% and now costs $78.20 per liter (previously $78.72), and Premium 97 dropped by 0.64% ($80.61, when it previously cost $81.13).
The transport sector didn't mince words: in a statement, they said it was "particularly negative news for a sector already stressed by costs and productivity issues." And, in passing, they pointed out that there were "inconsistencies between the data in the PPI report and the set price," which "reduces the transparency of the system and leaves the sector in uncertainty."
The Rural Federation also joined the fray, expressing its "deep concern and displeasure over the fuel increase" because it "impacts the entire national production chain." Furthermore, the sector was already struggling with high costs and rock-bottom competitiveness.
Cardona, meanwhile, defended the new method of setting fuel prices, which has been in place since May: basically, they announce prices every 60 days, there's a stabilization factor of $1.50 per liter, and a maximum variation limit of 7%. According to her, they're piloting it with Economy Minister Gabriel Oddone so that no one can claim the process is murky. "We've talked a thousand times about how the Import Parity Price (PPI) is applied," Cardona said. And on top of that, she thinks continuing to discuss this over the Budget is a tremendous drain.
Oh, and about the supergas cylinder: after the $100 price cut in July, it's now the product that's seen the biggest price increase. Cardona explained it this way: "It's going back to the price it was before the discount." Basically, it's not that it went up, but rather that the promotion is over. Incidentally, he noted that diesel prices went down in April, May, and June, to accompany the harvest, and then due to the polar cold. In other words, it doesn't always go up, according to his version.
In short, for Cardona, continuing to repeat that this is a "historic adjustment" makes no sense. "We have tables in the Ministry, in Ancap, in the Energy Directorate with prices from the entire past five years," he defended himself.
And as if that weren't enough, the minister also spoke about the crack in a pipeline carrying oil from the José Ignacio buoy in Maldonado. She said they're working with Ancap and the Maldonado Municipality to fix it, and that Chilean technicians are coming to help on Friday. "We're in contact with the president of Ancap (Cecilia San Román)," Cardona concluded. A busy day, let's say.
