According to AFX News, Iran has been trying to launch such an initiative for some time. The state raised petrol prices by 25% in May 2007, and launched a scheme that required customers to use smart cards in order to monitor the amount of petrol that they bought.
Now, the scheme will reduce the amount of petrol that can be used by government cars to 10 liters per day, Ali Akbar Mehrabian, head of government special plans, told the state news agency IRNA, as cited by AFX News.
This will allow government vehicles to use 10 liters of petrol at the usual cost of 1,000 rials, or $0.10 per liter. Although AFX News said that Mr Mehrabian had not revealed how much would be charged for petrol bought over this allowance, it is thought that the price would be substantially higher.
Although industry observers are speculating that the initiative will have a significant impact on Iran’s economy, AFX News commented that the effects will not be fully realized until the rationing is extended to include private cars across the state.
In recent years, the low petrol prices in Iran have led to such vast consumption that the state has had to spend billions of dollars on importing petrol to cater for demand. Indeed, according to AFX News, Iran had to import $5 billion worth of petrol in the year leading to March 2007.
It has been estimated that, if Iran does not implement some form of petrol quota, the state would have to import $9.5 billion worth of petrol in 2007, AFX News added.
The Iranian government is yet to officially reveal plans about its rationing scheme, but it is thought that the allowance for government cars will begin at midnight on June 13, 2007.
