Addition of biofuels to gasoline and diesel will not be mandatory from July 1 until end-2023

RIGA - Addition of biofuels to gasoline and diesel will no longer be mandatory from July 1 until end-2023 in order to check the rising fuel prices, according to amendments to the Regulation on Requirements for Conformity Assessment of Gasoline and Diesel Fuel that the government approved on Tuesday.

During this period, addition of biofuels to gasoline and diesel will be voluntary, that is, fuel retailers or wholesalers will decide themselves whether or not to add biofuels to gasoline and diesel.

The Economics Ministry believes that the amendments will reduce fuel prices or make them grow more slowly, but this will not significantly affect fuel consumption amounts.

The current regulation stipulates that diesel fuel may be sold in Latvia only if biofuel has been added, constituting no less than 6.5 percent of the total volume of diesel, while gasoline must contain at least 9.5 percent of biofuels. The requirement was harmonized in all Baltic countries in 2019.

Representatives of the Latvian Biofuels and Bioenergy Association previously told LETA that this step was unlikely to reduce final fuel prices. The removal of biofuels from gasoline and diesel will lead to higher demand for fossil fuels, which could have a price-increasing effect. In addition, fuel wholesalers and retailers have already signed long-term contracts with biofuel suppliers.