MOSCOW (Realist English). The invisible hand of the market exposed itself in the purchase of fuel for the carpool of the governor’s office and the government of the Orenburg region. AI-95 gasoline for travel of respected people will be delivered at 36.2 rubles per liter.
These are the results of one of the two auctions for the supply of fuel for the master’s garage. According to the results of the auction, Uralkomplekt LLC became victor. The initial bidding price was 9 million rubles at the rate of 50.53 rubles per liter.
Against this backdrop, there is a fresh statement from the FAS that there are no prerequisites for a significant increase in gasoline and diesel fuel in the Russian Federation. What is “substantial growth”, and how does it differ from non-essential?
The Internet-portal “Nakanune” (The Day Before) conducted an interesting comparative analysis, according to which the cost of a liter of A-95 gasoline in Russia (84 cents per liter) turned out to be more expensive than that of neighbors from the former USSR, to whom the Russian Federation itself supplies oil and petroleum products. Quite a strange situation. We are not even talking about large oil-producing states.
Iran could be a reference example of ultra-low fuel prices for the population: where, with a similar economic structure and significant own reserves of hydrocarbon raw materials, the government spends about $40 billion on fuel subsidies. A striking example is Kyrgyzstan, where gasoline costs 78 cents.
At the same time, there is no own oil and gasoline production in the country, and the main share of fuel comes from Russia. In neighboring Kazakhstan (where prices are now about 50 cents per liter), gasoline and gas as motor fuel are also actively subsidized, in addition, there are elements of direct market regulation.
In the Russian Federation, a hybrid pricing scheme is used, in which the so-called damper and the estimated price in the domestic market, determined by the government, play a decisive role. If the state does not want to switch to direct subsidies, then it may be worth referring to the regulatory concept of tariff regulation developed by the Federal Antimonopoly Service. It is based on the method of comparative analysis of reference costs (costs) – in fact, it is a rationing algorithm (roughly speaking, the real need is calculated and the long-term price is fixed). Unfortunately, they for the second year cannot adopt the law on long-term tariff regulation. Many in Russia do not want its adoption.