This follows the continued cushioning of users through the fuel subsidy drawn from the Petroleum Development Levy introduced last year.
In its latest price review, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), on Tuesday, increased the price of petrol, diesel and kerosene went by Sh9 per litre.
A litre of super petrol in Nairobi hit a new high of Sh159.12 from Sh150.12, diesel Sh140 up from Sh131, while kerosene rose to Sh127.94 from Sh118.94 per litre. The prices remain in place until July 14.
Uganda has the highest pump prices on petrol and diesel at Ush5,625 (Sh175.72), the GlobalPetrolPrices.com data shows.
In Rwanda, a litre of petrol is retailing at Rwandan franc 1,460 (Sh167.41) while diesel is retailing at RWF 1,503 (Sh172.34).
In Tanzania, a litre of diesel is Tsh3,131 (Sh157.63) while kerosene is Tsh3,299 (Sh166.08).
The neighbouring country however has the cheapest petrol with a litre retailing at Tsh2,994 which is about Sh150.73.
Without the subsidy, Kenya would have had the highest price on petrol at Sh184.68 per litre, while diesel would be selling at Sh188.19. Kerosene would be retailing at Sh170.37.
A large portion of Kenya's pricing component is made up of taxes.
“The government will utilise the Petroleum Development Levy to cushion consumers from the otherwise high prices,” EPRA director, enforcement and consumer, protection directorate Cyprian Nyakundi said in a statement on Tuesday.
National Treasury has however initiative a process of gradually adjusting the subsidy with plans to do away with it within the next financial year.
According to CS Ukur Yatani, the government has allocated Sh100 billion in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years to subsidise fuel prices, but says the programme is unsustainable, meaning consumers should brace for tougher times.
"The cost of fuel subsidy could eventually surpass its allocation in the national budget," Yatani said, pushing up the country's debt.
The country is said to be spending about Sh7.65 billion to subsidise prices, a programme that the World Bank has also termed unsustainable.
Meanwhile, the programme continues to make products cheaper in Kenya compared to South Africa, a leading economy, where a litre of petrol is going for an equal of Sh174.93, diesel is ZAR (Rand) 25.06 (Sh183.81) while kerosene is going for ZAR 20.09 (Sh147.35).
Consumers in Egypt and Nigeria however enjoy the cheapest prices in the continent where a litre of petrol is at an equivalent of Sh48.23 and Sh60.23, respectively.
With Tuesday's price increase Kenyans should expect increases in transport costs and a rise in prices of commodities, sector players have said.
“It is very unfortunate but we have to pass the costs. We have advised our members to do their costings and immediately adjust fares,”Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai yesterday.
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) said , the high cost of fuel is expected to increase the cost of production resulting in an increase in the price of various goods.
“We urge the government to suspend some of the taxes on fuel as an alternative mechanism to shield the country from the high cost of fuel,” KAM told the Star.
Inland freight costs are also expected to increase, Kenya Transporters Association(KTA) has said, which will add up to cost of goods.
“We need more money (for fuel) to do the same job which means the costs will be passed on,” KTA chief executive Mercy Ireri told the Star on telephone.
The government’s appetite for revenues have however continued to play a major role in pushing Kenyans into expensive fuel products, with taxes and levies accounting for more than 50 per cent of the landed cost of petrol.
The push to increase revenues on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is also to haunting consumers in the country, as road users are taxed higher compared to rail.
EPRA pricing data shows the government is taking Sh62.89 per litre of petrol in taxes and levies, more than half the Sh104.05 it landed at, at the Port of Mombasa.
The state also takes Sh51.65 per litre of diesel and Sh45.15 on kerosene, whose landed costs are Sh117.46 and Sh106.60 per litre, respectively.
These adds to storage and distribution costs.
EPRA on Tuesday however pegged the rise on increased landed costs.
There is however upward adjustments on three of the nine different taxes and levies consumers pay in Kenya, as government seeks more revenues.
These are Import Declaration Fee (IDF) which has gone up to Sh3.5 per litre of petrol from Sh1.81 last year.
A litre of diesel is now charged IDF at Sh 3.96 per litre up from Sh1.64 while importers are paying IDF at Sh3.60 per litre of kerosene, up from Sh1.55.
The government has also adjusted upwards VAT to Sh11.8 per litre of petrol, Sh10.37 for diesel and Sh9.48 on kerosene.
This is from Sh9.10, Sh7.97 and Sh7.25 last year.
In a move to push more business to the SGR and discourage road use by importers and exporters, the government increased the RDL on fuel to Sh2 per litre from Sh1.04 on petrol, while diesel and kerosene are also attracting higher levies(Sh2.27 and Sh2.02, from Sh0.94 and Sh0.88).
Excise duty at Sh21.95 per litre of petrol and Sh11.37 for diesel and kerosene however take the lions share of taxes.
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