Motorists are feeling the pinch at the pump as worldwide oil prices continue to rise.
Minister of Finance Keat Chhon fended off rumors that the government increased the gasoline tax on Tuesday, saying, “The price of petroleum on the international market increased. The tax system is the same. We have not changed.”
At Caltex and Total gas stations, the price of regular gasoline has recently increased 100 riel per liter to 2,550 riel and that of super gasoline has increased 200 riel per liter to 2,700 riel. Global crude oil prices have jumped
14.8 percent since Sept 23, a day before the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries unexpectedly decided to cut oil production, according to Bloomberg. OPEC ministers met Tuesday in Algeria to review their oil policy.
Sorn Sokna, vice president of Sokimex Petroleum Co Ltd, blamed OPEC for the rise in prices.
“Our country imports petroleum, so when the price on the international market rises, we also raise the price,” Sorn Sokna said.
An official at Kampuchea Tela Co said Tuesday that they would not raise gas prices like the “foreign companies.”
“We keep our prices stable; we want to help our poor clients,” said Pat Por Tek, a supervisor at Tela. “We dislike foreign companies that want money quickly and are then gone.”
He said regular gas there would remain at 2,450 riel per liter, and super gas at 2,550 riel per liter.
Gas prices in Battambang and other northwest provinces have risen in the past few weeks due to a Thai crackdown on border smuggling.
Gas prices in Thailand and Vietnam are about 75 percent lower than Cambodia due to
the high gasoline tax. A report issued by the Economic Institute of Cambodia late last year showed that though the number of cars has increased steadily
in the past few years, gasoline
tax revenue has gradually fallen since 1994—a result of fuel smuggling.
Government officials have said the tax remains high because it provides too much of the government’s revenue to simply eliminate it.
