Central African Republic: fuel price rise already weighs heavily on professionals and consumers
The government announced a new fuel price schedule on Thursday 1 October at a meeting with trade unions, raising petrol to 1,150 CFA francs per litre from 1,050 and diesel to 1,400 from 1,250, the third increase in three years. Transporters and traders in Bangui have raised their own tariffs in response, and residents have expressed anger and called on the government to abandon the new prices. The energy minister justified the measure by tensions on the global oil market and the need to replenish state coffers, in a landlocked country that produces no oil and imports its fuel via the port of Douala in Cameroon.
Why it matters: It shows how energy prices pass through into transport and food costs in a landlocked, import-dependent economy, with the burden falling on households already living below the poverty threshold.