PHNOM PENH: The Undersecretary of State and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, Pen Sovicheat, acknowledged the challenges faced by the people because of rising fuel prices, but said that the state has helped out a lot to reduce the current price on the Cambodian market, making it so that it is not too much more than what the citizens can afford. He said that Cambodia is a country that buys oil from abroad, so the increase in fuel prices on the international stage is the main reason for the increase in the price of domestic fuel. However, Cambodia has guaranteed two points which are to control prices and have enough to supply the citizens.

The current fuel price in Cambodia is 5,600 riel per liter for regular gasoline and 5,400 riel per liter for diesel from 21-31 May 2022. According to the announcement on the retail price of fuel at the station, the price has increased by 50 riel for regular gasoline and 400 riel for diesel compared to the old price.

Speaking to EAC News by telephone on Monday, 23 May, Spokesperson Pen Sovicheat said that in order to keep prices from rising too high, in addition to measures taken in the past, the government has now partnered with the private sector to keep prices low and to ensure that there is enough supply for citizens as well.

He said, "The government has also provided some subsidies in this regard, as we have seen from the beginning until now, the government has continued to subsidize the retail price of fuel with the cooperation of the private sector, which makes the price of fuel a little lower compared to increasing prices on the international stage. We generally observe that although we import the oil, the prices do not rise as much as in other countries where we have observed it is two or three times as much. Moreover, we observe that we’re at a level that we can control, and secondly, we still have oil for sale; this is an important point."

The President of Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association, Vorn Pov, said that the problem of rising gas prices has seriously affected the lives of people, especially those working in the informal economy, which increases their expenses greatly. He urged the government to reduce taxes on gasoline, and instead tax non-essential products.

He said, "I do not mind the rise in prices, as the Ukraine and Russia crisis has pushed up international oil prices. For Cambodia, oil and gas prices seem to be rising the highest, and that’s a problem. I think what the state can do is review the reduction of the import tax on fuel as well as the gross sales tax. If there is a fear of losing national income due to reducing taxes, the government can tax things that are not important, non-essential things that people do not use daily. I think that’s what the state can do."

During a meeting with more than 2,000 Cambodians in Europe on the night of Saturday, 21 May, in Davos, Switzerland, Prime Minister Hun Sen raised a new issue that the world is facing: the Russia-Ukraine war, which has affected global fuel prices and caused a potential food crisis. The Prime Minister asked about the current price of gasoline in Europe, which was more than 2 euros or equivalent to almost 10,000 riel per liter, a price that is much higher than in Cambodia, and said he hopes that the people in Cambodia will be aware of these world gas prices.

He added that the reason why he asked such questions is because during the current campaign period for the Commune/District Council Elections, there will likely be people who use rising gasoline prices in their political platform to deceive the people, when the price of gasoline is actually rising almost all over the world.