Russian cargo has risen in price: carriers demand state subsidies for diesel fuel

Domestic cargo carriers called on the authorities to introduce state regulation of diesel prices and fix its cost below 60 rubles per liter. Now in a number of regions of the country, especially in the Far East, fuel of this brand has to be bought for a gold piece more expensive. For a trucker business, this kind of spending can be absolutely unbearable. Hence the appeal to the government for support.

In a letter from the National Association of Road Freight Transport, addressed to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, it is reported that in just a week, diesel fuel at filling stations in a number of Russian regions has risen in price by 10% and already costs about 68-70 rubles per liter (mainly this applies to the Far East , in the areas of which a liter of diesel now really costs like at European gas stations). According to the head of the association, Vladimir Matyagin, the current situation has developed due to the increase in wholesale prices for fuel, as well as in connection with the abolition of discounts at gas stations for ordinary motorists.

In the second half of August, the wholesale price of diesel fuel at the St. Petersburg Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange increased by almost 20% to a record 68,000 rubles per ton. There are several reasons for the increase in fuel prices: increased demand for petroleum products due to the onset of the active phase of fuel purchases for remote regions of Russia as part of the northern delivery, planned refinery repairs and external pricing conditions.

The timeliness of the introduction of state regulation of fuel prices for all freight carriers, apparently, requires a deep study from the authorities. Not all participants in the transport industry agree with the need to regulate the cost of diesel fuel for large companies by government agencies. So how to solve the problems with the sharply risen in price of diesel fuel? For an answer, we turned to the President of the Association of Transport Experts and Specialists Taras Koval.

– How justified is the requirement of cargo carriers to introduce state regulation of diesel prices?

– From the point of view of the economic development of the state, and, specifically, the market for private transportation of goods, it is not justified in any way. The number of state-owned enterprises involved in the sector of transportation of goods for various purposes is not so large. To whom and on what grounds then to provide subsidies? Only private companies seeking to increase their own competitiveness with the help of federal subsidies. The cargo transportation industry in Russia has been formed solely in accordance with market conditions for doing business, so any government intervention risks slowing down the work of long-established management mechanisms. Moreover, in the case of granting subsidies to individual transport enterprises, the state will have to withdraw similar amounts from other subsidized areas.

– Do you mean payments to oilmen for the fuel damper, which will be halved from September (by 30 billion rubles a month)? Apparently, now that carriers are making proposals on state regulation of the retail price of diesel, oil companies will again demand higher damper payments?

– Such a requirement on the part of commodity holdings will be quite natural and, as the practice of previous years shows, the authorities will heed the wishes of large mining companies. You just need to understand that the resources of the treasury are not rubber – shifting money from pocket to pocket will not increase the number of banknotes. Giving preferences to freight carriers who have come forward with a demand to fix diesel prices, as well as complying with the requirements of oil corporations that do not want to lose budget payments for a fuel damper, risks putting the state in a difficult position. Both will have to pay, and the final financial effect will be reduced to zero.

– In different regions of Russia, retail prices for diesel may differ by 15 rubles per liter. FAS should ensure that fuel producers do not raise retail prices, but the cost of diesel, for example, in the Far East is growing rapidly. Is the efficiency of the antimonopoly department insufficient or are there objective reasons for price hikes?

– Why should the same fuel prices exist in all regions of Russia? The logistics of transporting fuel involves the cost of shipping any product, especially one that is not produced in the importing region. This situation often forces transport companies to transport fuel, thinking first of all about covering the cost of supplying raw materials and services for the delivery/distribution of gasoline or diesel to contracted destinations. Sometimes carriers are forced to put up with the loss of marginal revenue, if only to stake out a route for themselves and not lose the reputational trust of customers. Even if there is a large refinery in the region, it is not certain that there will be no increase in prices at local gas stations: during the annual period of scheduled repairs and modernization of distilleries, there is a shortage of fuel in the nearest retail chains. What can we say about neighboring regions, where fuel is brought from sponsoring regions. Due to logistics costs, the final price tags at gas stations in remote areas will, of course, be higher than those where the nearest processing plant is within easy reach.

– President Putin demanded that the Central Bank and the government limit “speculative demand in the economy.” Mainly, it refers to the foreign exchange market. However, there are also speculators in the fuel segment…

– Rather, not speculators, but intermediaries to whom large logistics companies delegate the rights to transport goods. Such firms present their services as an accompanying, forwarding service. Nevertheless, the work of the forwarder consists precisely in the direct accompaniment of the finished product transported from the manufacturer to the buyer: including, from the shipment of petroleum products at the plant to the distribution of fuel to the storage (perhaps even for tanks of specific equipment) of the client. The all-Russian increase in prices for cargo transportation is formed, among other things, in connection with the costs of the services of such operators.

Is it possible to refuse the services of such intermediaries?

– Over time, manufacturers and buyers will be able to come to a closer and mutually beneficial trade in fuel on stock exchanges in order to save money. It is high time. They say that the level of prices in stores directly depends on the cost of transport services. At the same time, there may be several unnecessary intermediaries between manufacturers and freight companies, whose participation in the transport business leads to an increase in the cost of the final product – be it gasoline or milk. If the driver understands that the fuel costs for the next flight will not pay for the trip and the transported cargo, then from a purely market point of view, he should abandon such a route. It is necessary that each driver be interested in the safety of the transported goods and know exactly the cost of fuel for transportation. However, now to introduce state regulation in the Russian sector of cargo transportation, where market relations have long been formed, would not be a step forward, but a return to Soviet times.