Forbes Central America magazine confirmed on Tuesday that El Salvador is the country with the cheapest gasoline in the region, thanks to the measures taken by the government to counteract the crisis generated by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The temporary suspension of the taxes of the Economic Development Stabilization Fund (FEFE) and the contribution for the stabilization of the rates of the collective and massive public passenger transport service (COTRANS) is currently in force, as is the implementation of the subsidy from the Temporary Special Law to Fix Maximum Prices of Fuels. This allows salvadorans to save up to $1 per gallon of diesel, up to $0.76 for regular diesel and up to $0.81 for special diesel.
In this scenario, the Minister of Economy, María Luisa Hayem, assured that having the lowest prices in hydrocarbon derivatives allows the country to become more competitive in business since the costs of other products that depend on the distribution and transport chain are lower.
“The direct impact of these measures is reflected in the reduction of the cost of fuel for Salvadorans who go to work, reduction of costs in the production of companies and even the promotion of domestic tourism for Salvadoran families” — the official explained.
Hayem also pointed out that they will continue to monitor the companies that supply Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and gas stations to prevent the provisions approved by the state from being breached and citizens from continuing to take advantage of the benefits.
To date, the Ministry of Economy (Minec), together with other institutions, has made visits to all liquefied gas bottling plants, inspected more than 7,000 gas sales points and verified up to 16 times each service station. In total, 16,700 inspections were recorded throughout the territory.