Lack of gasoline import from Kazakhstan to increase smuggling of fuel

Further delay in signing of an intergovernmental agreement on the import of gasoline from Kazakhstan will lead to an increase in the volume of smuggling and a loss of payments to the budget. The Association of Oil Traders of Kyrgyzstan reported.

According to the Association, the fuel and lubricants market of the republic is under the threat of destabilization due to the uncontrolled flow of petroleum products, mainly motor gasoline, from Kazakhstan.

According to experts, the volume of illegal imports of fuel and lubricants reaches 300,000-350,000 tons annually, or about 25-30 percent of the market of Kyrgyzstan.

«We consider it most effective to transform the hidden and uncontrolled import of petroleum products from Kazakhstan into a legal channel by opening official exports on the basis of an agreement that has been discussed since August 2018. The Association of Oil Traders appealed to the Government and the State Committee for Industry, Energy and Subsoil Use with a request to speed up its signing in order to normalize the situation,» the statement says.