Ukraine has increased imports of petroleum products by 12 times, said the Ministry of Economy

MOSCOW, Sep 2 — PRIME. Since the end of February, Ukraine has increased the import of petroleum products by 12 times, at the moment there is no shortage of fuel in the country, said Yulia Sviridenko, head of the Ministry of Economy.

She recalled the abolition of the excise tax on petroleum products, the reduction of VAT to seven percent, as well as the suspension of the regulation of fuel prices. “All this in combination made it possible to increase the volume of imports by 12 times,” the official website of the government of Ukraine quotes Sviridenko as saying.

According to her, Ukraine in 2022 has become critically dependent on the import of petroleum products. In March, 58.8 thousand tons of gasoline, diesel fuel and liquefied gas were imported, in August already 709.5 thousand tons.

“We see a gradual accumulation of oil product stocks on the market due to the constant growth in imports. That is why today there is no rush demand for fuel, there are no queues at gas stations, and prices do not show a tendency to rapid growth,” the minister noted.