Oil-importing companies are engaged in a cartel agreement with the government – Vaso Urushadze
According to Vaso Urushadze, a leader of the "National Movement," oil-importing companies in Georgia are involved in a cartel agreement with the government.
Urushadze stated that evidence of this lies in the fact that oil-importing companies in Georgia have kept prices unchanged despite a drop in diesel prices on the international market.
"Between September 15 and October 5, the price of diesel on the international market fell by 12%, yet we saw that not a single importing company in Georgia lowered its prices. This indicates the existence of a cartel agreement among them. They fail to react when international prices drop, but they immediately raise prices when costs go up.
This amounts to the robbery of Georgian citizens. Price increases in Georgia are not driven solely by rising costs on the international market; this is the result of a cartel agreement and corrupt arrangements within the oil products market," Urushadze stated. According to him, the Competition Agency has been informed about the matter but is failing to take appropriate action.
"The Competition Agency is aware of this. You can ask their leadership. They call it a 'practice,' but in reality, it is not a practice; it is a cartel agreement and a corrupt deal with the authorities.
The Competition Agency is informed about this yet fails to react, which indicates indifference and a corrupt interest on their part," noted the leader of the National Movement.
Urushadze stated that the National Movement has a concrete plan to lower fuel prices, including halving excise taxes, reducing the VAT rate, and dismantling cartel agreements. "The Competition Agency must fulfill its obligations. When prices on the international market drop, there should be an immediate local response, and the prices of petroleum products at gas stations should be reduced. Concrete action is also required regarding the processes currently unfolding—unfortunately—in the petroleum products market," stated Vaso Urushadze