DOHA: Petrol and diesel are to cost more in the country from early today. 'Super 97 octane' will be available for QR1 per litre while 'premium' petrol's prices have been raised to 85
dirhams a litre.
Diesel, on the other hand, will cost QR1 per litre whereas kerosene's rates have been jacked up to 80 dirhams a litre.
The price rise on an average works out to more than 25 percent as diesel was available till today for 70 dirhams a litre while 'super' petrol used to cost 80 dirhams per litre and 'premium' was
even cheaper. Some said they suspected that the petrol price hike had to do with the exit of H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, the Deputy Premier, as energy minister, and the coming in of H E Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada. The new rates went into effect from 1am today and a notification issued by local petroleum producers and distributors, Woqod (Qatar Fuel), reached some filling stations owned by the company by 10.30pm yesterday.
The notice dated January 22, 2011 written in Arabic briefly said the prices of all petroleum products were being increased from 1am, January 23, 2011. It is clear from the notice that the new rates are applicable to private as well as Woqod filling stations.
What surprised many was the fact that Woqod offices were closed yesterday being a Saturday and yet a decision as important as this one was taken and a notice was issued in haste.
The price hike is being made effective after approval from the concerned authorities, said
the notice. "We received the notification only half-an-hour ago," said an official at a Woqod filling station at about 10.45pm.
"We are shocked by the sudden increase," said a Qatari motorist who had driven into a Woqod filling station at 10.30pm yesterday. However, as the news spread and people began sending SMS to friends and relatives, more and more motorists could be seen at several filling stations filling their tanks before the new rates
became effective.
Despite the increase, petroleum products like petrol, diesel and kerosene still remain cheaper in Qatar as compared to the rest of the world and even some neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, a QNA report said quoting an unnamed Woqod source.
"Petroleum products are subsidized by the government," QNA added, hinting their prices were still supported by the state. The sudden petrol price hike took motorists by surprise as they drove to some Woqod filling stations and saw Woqod's notice.
A Qatari motorist, Abdulrahman Al Haidoos, said of the petrol price hike that it was not a good sign, while a compatriot of his, Nasser Abdul Rahman said petrol prices should not have been raised especially when the prices of almost everything were going up.
"I had never dreamt this would happen," said Haithem Fares, a Jordanian who was driving an eight-cylinder pickup.
People generally said they were shocked by the suddenness of the move to raise petrol and diesel prices and said they wondered if the decision was approved by the Consumer Protection Department (CPD) at the Ministry of Business and Trade.
Some motorists said they wondered if the authorities concerned referred to in Woqod's notification was a pointer to the CPD, and if so, how a consumer rights watchdog could take such a step that would burden people who were already weighed down by rising prices.
Social websites became abuzz with the news with people, particularly, citizens posting comments. No one seemed to approve Woqod's move and they were surprised since it is a public shareholding company largely owned by the state.
"If a state-backed company raises prices of basic products like petroleum with such suddenness and by a hefty 25 percent, what happens to private companies that supply basic foodstuff and services," asked some people.
"We were actually waiting for some generous gesture from the government after the Kuwaiti government recently announced free food for 14 months and monetary gift for its citizens, but what happened here is just the reverse. It's shocking," said a commentator.
Some posted comments saying they would drive their cars to filling stations in nearby Saudi Arabia and get the tanks of their cars filled.
There already are so many problems in the Middle East and the sudden petrol price hike wasn't expected at all, said another commentator.
Analysts said although petrol prices are not as significant an issue in Qatar as in some oil-importing countries where they have a direct bearing on commodity prices and general inflation, the hike here would definitely force companies to pass on the burden to end-users.
"This is sure to mount the inflationary pressure," said an official of a company agreeing that their staff transport costs could go up and they might pass on the burden to consumers. An official from a shopping complex said commodity prices were unlikely to be impacted since household expenses on fuel doesn't work out to much as compared to rent or food. But householders using cars said their budgets would definitely get negatively impacted and added they feared the petrol price hike might lead to further inflation.
Mowasalat was not immediately available for comment as the petrol price hike would impact its costs and that could eventually have a bearing on Karwa customers--both taxi and bus commuters.
Private transport companies could also not be contacted for comment, but a source said he heard of the 'disturbing news' and one could expect the charges of transport providers like lorries to go up soon.
"To sum up, the impact of the sudden petrol price hike is be felt by the common man," said an analyst.
© The Peninsula 2011
