The government of Zimbabwe has announced plans to resume blending petrol with ethanol, seeking to reduce fuel prices and increase its availability.
The government resumed petrol blending at E10 from 25th April this year, and is expected to go up to E20 by end of this month. The government had initially scrapped the mandatory blending of petrol in January this year.
Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the blending of petrol at El0 had resulted in the reduction of petrol price by 0.04 U.S. cents per litre while blending at E20 will reduce the price by 0.07 U.S. cents per litre.
Mutsvangwa said the government was making efforts to improve the strategic fuel reserve, with $40 million worth of fuel having been procured in the last six months.
“The intention is to maintain at least a 30-day stock cover, which, at the current consumption levels, translates to 150 million liters. This fuel would be released onto the market to plug supply gaps or to stabilize prices,” Mutsvangwa said.
The Zimbabwe government intends to set up a fuel price stabilization fund to cushion consumers from sharp increases in fuel prices.
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