Not only in Israel: How Arab neighbors are dealing with rising fuel prices
In Egypt, a committee was established to set prices every three months. In Jordan, authorities are preventing global oil price hikes from impacting the local market. In Syria, a government attempt to lower prices resulted in massive queues and fuel stations running out of supply.
The rise in global oil prices is causing concern among neighboring countries. However, Arab authorities are aware of the scenario where a spike in prices would bring the masses to the streets, and therefore they strictly monitor prices. This does not improve the situation everywhere.
Today in Egypt, the price of a liter of 95-octane gasoline is 24 Egyptian pounds, and the price of a liter of diesel is 20.5 pounds. In other words, the price of a liter of fuel is at most about 1.4 shekels. And yet, due to the large proportion of the population living below the poverty line, any small increase in fuel prices could send people to protests and riots. For illustration, the minimum wage in Egypt ranges from 6,000 to 8,000 pounds, depending on whether it is the private or public sector.
Last July, the Egyptian government established a pricing committee that will set prices every three months. Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly explained that the committee is responsible for lowering or raising fuel prices against the backdrop of fluctuations in oil prices in global markets.
According to him, the rise in oil prices led to an increase in fuel prices in Egypt in March and increased the burden on the government. Prices in March rose by a maximum of 30%. Subsequently, the government decided to freeze fuel prices as part of an effort to ease economic pressure. And yet, Egyptian sources told the newspaper "Al-Akhbar" at the end of the week that the rise in prices, which also includes food products, is already causing anger on the streets.
In Jordan, the price committee decided to maintain the same price level as the previous month. The price of a liter of gasoline ranges from 1 dinar to 1.31 dinars. The price of a liter of diesel is only 0.85 dinars. It should be noted that one Jordanian dinar is equivalent to 4.2 shekels. However, like in Egypt, Jordan continues to bear a large part of the costs of the spike in global oil prices and does not allow them to spill over into the local market. Here too, the goal is to prevent economic harm to citizens that would lead to public anger.
In Lebanon, the situation is slightly different, as the local lira has collapsed in recent years due to the economic crisis. Of course, compared to Israel, this is a cheap price, but for the local market, these are high prices. Just last Friday, fuel prices rose once again. Now the price of a liter of gasoline is about 2,500 Lebanese pounds (about eight agorot).
In Syria, the situation is more severe. Here too, the country is suffering from an economic crisis following the civil war. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, most provinces in the country have recently suffered from an acute shortage of diesel and gasoline. Following a slight rise in the exchange rate of the Syrian lira against the dollar, the Syrian Ministry of Energy announced lower prices in the summer. However, instead of enjoying the price drop, Syrians encountered long lines at stations and stations that closed, claiming they had run out of fuel.
