Bajrami: When the closure of Hormuz was reported, the price of oil in Kosovo increased, when it fell yesterday it remained the same, it is being tolerated by the Government

Bajrami: When the closure of Hormuz was reported, the price of oil in Kosovo increased, when it fell yesterday it remained the same, it is being tolerated by the Government

LDK MP Hykmete Bajrami described what is happening with the price of oil in Kosovo as absurd. She says that when the news about the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was announced, the price immediately increased in Kosovo, while yesterday when the price of oil fell on international stock exchanges as a result of the US-Iran ceasefire, the price in Kosovo did not change.

“When the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was reported, prices in Kosovo immediately increased, but when the situation calmed down yesterday and prices fell on the stock exchange, they remained the same here. So, for the price to increase, one piece of news is enough, but for it to decrease, it takes ‘time’. This is not market logic, this is abuse against citizens.”

For this, Bajrami blamed the Government, whose measures to impose the price ceiling he criticized.

“The truth is that this situation is being tolerated by the Government, which instead of protecting citizens, is exploiting the crisis to fill the budget. We have repeatedly said: this cannot be solved with margins and ceiling prices that cannot be controlled. The problem is much deeper: lack of will to reduce taxes, lack of management and lack of data analysis. Today, there is not even basic data: How much oil is there in the local market when prices increase? At what price was it imported and is it being sold more expensive?”

Bajrami said that if the price moves on the stock exchange, the Government needs to know exactly how much oil is in stock and at what price it was purchased.

This information, she says, exists at Customs, but is not used by the Government.

“This means that decisions are not based on data, but on delayed and selective reactions. While the Government sets margins and guarantees profit for traders, it refuses to reduce VAT and excise duty, the two main components of the price. The higher the price, the more money the state collects. Today, for every liter of oil, the budget receives 13–15 cents more in taxes than before the crisis. This is the Government’s ‘profit’ from the crisis.”

She then proposed several measures that she said are possible in this situation.

– Daily reporting on import stock and price,

– Real reflection of prices over time, no abuse of old stock,

– Reduction of VAT and excise duty

“Oil is a source of inflation. If its price is not stabilized immediately, any aid after inflation only feeds the latter. One thing must be clearly known that the problem is not the lack of means to react, the problem is the lack of will.”/Express/