DIESEL prices have decreased since the end of Thingyan as the private sector has begun importing from Malaysia, fuel dealers said last week.

»A car owner checks his fuel ration book as pump attendents work at a Yangon gas station

At the beginning of May, a gallon of diesel at private fuel stations in Yangon cost K1400, compared to K1600 at the beginning of April.

“At the end of 2003, diesel cost about K1200 a gallon, but the price rose 35 per cent at the beginning of 2004. At the beginning of April, a gallon of diesel cost K1400,” said U Win Naing, a diesel and petrol dealer in Yangon.

“But after Thingyan…the price went down by about 15pc – now diesel is about K1400 a gallon.”

In March, the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) announced that 32 private Myanmar companies would be allowed to import up to 20,000 tonnes of diesel from Malaysia beginning last month.

A second quota of imports has also been permitted by UMFCCI from the end of June under a Free on Board agreement in which Myanmar will import diesel from Malaysia at US$260 a tonne. The Co-operative Export and Import Enterprise will be the main importer, according to the agreement.

“In the near future, the price of diesel is likely to fall to about K1200 a gallon as increased supply meets local demand,” said U Nyunt Thaung, a Yangon fuel dealer.

Meanwhile, petrol has risen in price by 25pc since March when it cost K1200 a gallon from private dealers. In the first week of May, a gallon of petrol was selling for K1500.

“The price of petrol is still increasing even though the Water Festival has finished,” U Nyunt Thaung said last Wednesday.

The price of petrol and diesel at Myanmar Petroleum Products Enterprise stations remains unchanged at K180 and K160 a gallon respectively.

Of the 450,000 vehicles registered with the Department of Road Transportation, about 35pc are run on diesel and the remaining 65pc on petrol.