The Indicative Retail Prices for petrol, diesel, and kerosene will all increase on average, throughout PNG. These retail price increases were mainly attributed to the reduction in supply from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies and increased global demand.
The domestic retail fuel prices for this month are inclusive of the IPPs, domestic sea and road freight rates for the third quarter of 2021, the annual wholesale and retail margins for 2021, applicable excise duties, and Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The maximum retail price movements for petrol, diesel, and kerosene in Port Moresby will be as follows:
| Port Moresby Retail Prices (toea per litre, tpl) | Petrol (tpl) | Diesel (tpl) | Kerosene (tpl) |
| Retail Prices as of 8th July 2021 | 370.30 | 320.82 | 290.30 |
| Retail Prices as of 8th June 2021 | 357.65 | 307.51 | 278.24 |
| Change (+/-) tpl | 12.65 | 13.31 | 12.06 |
Retail prices in all other designated centers will change according to their approved in-country freight rates and their respective retail margins for 2021.
The domestic retail prices for all centers will change according to their approved domestic sea and road freight charges. After applying in-country shipping and transport costs for this month, the maximum indicative retail prices in the country will change on average as follows:
• Petrol prices will increase by 11.42 toea per litre;
• Diesel prices will increase by 12.08 toea per litre; and
• Kerosene prices will increase by 10.84 toea per litre.
The retail price increases are mainly attributed to the average price increases at the IPP level for July 2021.
While the average retail prices in all other centres will increase, only Kavieng and Namatanai will see average decreases between 2% and 1.9%, respectively, for all regulated products. The decreases in retail prices are mainly due to decreased voyage costs for delivering refined petroleum products from Port Moresby to Kavieng.
As part of the ICCC’s enforcement and compliance with fuel prices, its Investigation Officers will conduct inspections to all service stations to ensure prices of petroleum products comply with the allowable maximum prices. The following ICCC officers will conduct compliance inspections in Lae, Mt Hagen, Kokopo, and Port Moresby. Inspections in other provinces will be supported by our contacts in those provinces.
The prices set by the ICCC are the indicative maximum retail prices, for which retailers may choose to sell below the ICCC approved maximum price. The ICCC would like to remind retailers who sell fuel-using pumps to set fuel prices to one decimal place while the ICCC will continue to set the maximum price to 2 decimal places.
No fuel pump operator should charge above the Indicative Retail Price for this month’s price regardless of the number of decimal places. This is to ensure compliance with the Prices Regulation Act under which the maximum prices of declared petroleum products are set. Retailers who are displaying prices to 1 decimal place are urged by the ICCC to round the prices down to ensure prices are within the allowable indicative retail prices.
ICCC Inspectors will continue to conduct spot checks after 8th July 2021, to ensure ongoing compliance by retail fuel operators. Consumers are advised to report any instances of overcharging by retailers through the ICCC’s Consumer Protection Division on telephone number 312 4600, on toll-free number: 180 3333.
