The price of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) widely used in cars in Armenia has surged by 40%, after Georgia blocked the transit of gas from Russia. This obstruction follows a similar move in which Georgia blocked the export of Armenian brandy to Russia.
On Tuesday, prices of LPG at the pumps hit ֏170 ($0.44) per litre, a dramatic increase from the previous rate of ֏120 ($0.31) per litre.
LPG is the most common and cheapest fuel used for transportation in Armenia.
‘I drive every day, it makes a difference of ֏3,500–֏4,000 ($9–$10) in each fill-up’, one driver told RFE/RL.
RFE/RL also quoted several unnamed import and distribution company employees as saying that the price increase was due to the Georgian obstruction of imports. According to them, nearly 500 Armenian lorries carrying gas were stuck at the Georgian border for eight to nine days as of Monday, each carrying about 22 tonnes of fuel.
Sirak Sukiasyan, the director of Flash, a fuel import and distribution company, told Factor TV that he believed there were over 400 lorries stuck at the Georgian checkpoint.
Importers have said they are unaware of what was causing the problem, and that they had never faced this kind of difficulty in Georgia except due to weather or other ‘objective’ factors.
Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan suggested that the prices would soon normalise, as he described how many lorries were crossing the border so far on Facebook.
‘On 14 July alone, 44 lorries loaded with liquefied gas entered Armenia from Georgia. In the last four days, 143 vehicles [in total]’, Papoyan wrote on Tuesday.
In a comment on his earlier posts, Papoyan admitted that at some point there was a deficit, but that ‘now I suppose [the price] must decrease’.
Factor TV also shared footage showing drivers hosing down tankers with water jets in order to cool them down as temperatures spike, with drivers warning that the temperatures could cause leakage or explosions.
Georgia’s obstruction of Armenia’s gas supply emerged shortly after the two countries entered a dispute which saw Georgia bar lorries carrying Armenian brandy from crossing into Russia through its borders.
Since late April, Armenian cargo had been subjected to inspections in Georgia, effectively halting the transit of Armenian brandy. As of early July, reports suggested that issues surrounding the brandy lorries had yet to be resolved, despite meetings between the two sides.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
