The ongoing fuel shortage in central Mexico has generated nearly MXN$5 billion’s worth of losses, without taking into account indirect costs, which could add another MXN$13 billion, said the chairman of the Confederation of National Commerce, Services, and Tourism Chambers (CONCANACO), José Manuel López Campos.
“As we have mentioned, the direct effects are estimated at MXN$5 billion pesos. If we were to consider indirect factors as well as those that affect market competitiveness, said number would rise to MXN$18 billion, though said losses could be compensated during the rest of the year,” he stated.
In a press conference, he claimed that the government’s policy to fight fuel theft should lead to the prosecution of those responsible. “The scourge should be reduced and the government should signal out those responsible and hold them accountable. Many companies have suffered the effects of fuel shortage this month, making this the hardest January in a very long time.”
Though there is an operation in place to distribute gasoline in the states that have been affected by the shortage, “the issue at hand has not yet been corrected. However, we are optimistic that the strategy will yield good results and are reassured by the statement made by the President on the temporary restoration of fuel distribution,” he stated.
Though the fuel shortage problem appears to weaken, the business sector has considered that, given the government’s partial opening of Mexico’s key pipelines and the use of tanker trucks to aid in fuel distribution, the region’s fuel supply would be back to normal in seven days time, claimed the chairman of the Mexican Employers’ Association (COPARMEX), Gustavo de Hoyos.
During a roundtable with reporters from EL UNIVERSAL, he added that it was necessary to achieve an absolute control of fuel pipelines and that the fuel theft issue had to be dealt with and eliminated completely.
SMT Newsroom with information from EL UNIVERSAL
