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Price of fuels pressures lower prices on articles and transportation

OTTT and driver syndicates meet this week

SD. The continuous reduction in fuel prices, pressured by the decline in the cost of crude oil, presents in the country the need to revise the prices of the articles in the basic food basket and transportation.

The transportation sector has already entered the debate, when 3 weeks ago they ordered reductions of between RD $5.00 and RD $25.00, at the intercity level, and for this week the driver syndicates are convening meetings in order to continue discussing the issue.

However, at the commercial level voices are also being raised by those who feel that what is happening with fuels should also be reflected in the prices of the products of mass consumption by the people.

Victor Castro, the president of the Herrera Industrial Association (AEIH), said yesterday that the reductions in fuel prices will have to necessarily impact the price and cost structure of other products.

The same thing was understood by Mario Chabebe, the president of the Villa Consuelo importers and Merchants Association (ASOCOVICON), who asked the government to meet with the national productive sectors in order to come to an agreement on price reductions for the products in the basic family basket.

Castro, nevertheless, justified the fact that the industrial sector has still maintained its prices without varying, due to the fact that they have not received reductions either in the cost of transportation or of energy. "What most impacts us is transportation when we use our own flotillas, because what we use with Fenatrado (the National Federation of Dominican Transporters) has still not seen an important reduction."

For this week, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce ordered reductions on several fuels, putting the price of premium gasoline at RD$208.5; regular gasoline at RD $185.7; premium diesel at RD$173.2; regular diesel at RD$1.65.1; LPG at RD$86.9 and natural gas at RD$35.67.

Today, at 9:00 a.m., the president of Mochotran, Alfredo Pulinario Linares (Cambita,) will hold a press conference together with the director of the Technical Office for Ground Transportation (OTTT), Hector Mojica, to talk about the issue of car fares.

Also today the National Confederation of Transportation (CONATRA) will meet, although its president Antonio Marte, has already said that they will continue lowering fares on several routes. He mentioned those of Santiago, Bonao, and La Vega, but he maintains his theory that at the city level they cannot be reduced, because the majority of the chauffeurs use Natural Gas, whose price has remained high.

For his part Ramon Perez Figuereo, of the National Central of Unified Transporters (CNTU), announced that on Wednesday they would come together in order to analyze the operational costs, but he revealed that they had already made a fare reduction, and "they can't keep going down each week." He said he would wait for the behavior of fuel prices over the next 2 weeks in order to decide if they continue the reductions of the fares.

The question of the day:

Should the public transportation syndicates lower the fares?

Randol Baez, merchant: "They have to lower the prices, because fuels continue going down right now. The government has to take measures regarding this."

Maria Perez, housekeeper: "I understand that they should lower the fares, because the fuel price has gone down a lot. Lower the fares 5 pesos."

Isidro Cordero, radio announcer: "Yes, they should lower the fares even more, and they have not done it. But this is the responsibility of the government and of the syndicate leaders."

Wendy Muñoz, salesperson: "The drivers have to lower the cost of fares now, because right now there is stability in the price of fuels.