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The Solomon Islands 2024 Triennial and Annual Fuel Price Review Meeting was successfully held in Brisbane, Australia from August 12 to 16.
The meeting brought together key stakeholders including officials from South Pacific Petroleum Ltd, Markworth Petroleum Ltd and Gafung (SI) Ltd. The Solomon Islands Government delegation was led by the Minister of Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration, Harry Kuma.
The important meeting was supported by Envisory Limited, a New Zealand-based consultancy specialising in monitoring petroleum fuel markets and developing benchmark prices for New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, and served as a platform for analysing fuel pricing submissions from major suppliers.
The conference was officially opened by Minister Harry Kuma on Wednesday, August 14. In his opening remarks, he highlighted the key role that petroleum products play in the Solomon Islands, both for consumers and for the local economy. He noted that petroleum is essential for transporting people, goods and services between the country’s islands.
The triennial and annual fuel price review meetings are an important process that involves a thorough analysis of the input from fuel suppliers to develop a new fuel pricing template for the 2024/2025 period.
The Solomon Islands government regulates domestic petroleum prices through a price control mechanism, which is adjusted monthly based on prices submitted by major petroleum suppliers Macworth Oil Limited (MOL) and South Pacific Petroleum Limited (SPOL) to the Solomon Islands Price Advisory Committee (PAC).
Minister Kuma further stressed the growing importance of petroleum products as a source of fuel and electricity generation in Solomon Islands. These products support a variety of industries including manufacturing, fisheries, tourism, agriculture, agro-processing and mining, all of which contribute to income and employment in both the formal and informal sectors.
The current Government of National Unity for Change (GNUT) has introduced reforms and policies aimed at enhancing socio-economic capabilities and promoting sustainable growth and development of the productive sectors.
These measures laid the foundation for the recovery and growth of the Solomon Islands economy.
These policies include regulation of petroleum prices, including annual reviews of price templates to ensure a fair balance of interests between fuel companies, consumers and the government.
In recent years, commodity and domestic fuel prices have risen due to the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions such as the Ukraine-Russia war and the Hamas conflict.
In response to this, the Solomon Islands government temporarily removed fuel import duties and sales taxes for six months in 2022 to mitigate the impact on domestic fuel consumption. Triennial and annual fuel price reviews are essential to address the differences in fuel pricing mechanisms.
“The government’s decision is crucial to providing consumers with affordable fuel while ensuring that fuel suppliers also earn a fair profit margin,” said Minister Kengo Kuma.
Minister Harry Kuma thanked Mr Carson Korowa, Chief Executive Officer of South Pacific Petroleum Limited, Mr Steve Barrett, Director of Markworth Petroleum Limited and Mr Louis Tiong of Gafung (SI) Limited for their active participation in the 2024 Fuel Price Review process.
Also accompanying Minister Kuma in the Solomon Islands Government delegation were Under Secretary of State (Administration/Planning) Mr Hunter Masuguria, Chairman of the Price Advisory Committee Mr Kaua, PAC Secretary Mr Edward Bamu and Director of Consumer Affairs and Price Control Mr Geoffrey Dan Houa. MCILI Technical Advisor Mr Shakir Kumar of Envisory Limited provided technical expertise and data analysis at the review meeting.
The meeting concluded successfully and the delegation returned to the Solomon Islands on August 17, 2024.
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-GCU Press Release
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