Fuel consumption in Zimbabwe rose to near 1.2 billion litres between January and November last year, compared to just over 1 billion in 2020, says the latest energy regulator data.
Within a market update, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) said the country consumed 1,152,198,301 litres over the 11 months, 10% more than the 1,035,624,744 litres used during the same period the year before.
In addition, the energy regulator stated that diesel consumption rose to 711.5 million litres, a rise from the previous figure of 676.7 million litres. Zera added that 440.7 million litres of petrol was consumed in the country between January and November, compared to 359 million litres during the same time in 2020.
Demand soared across markets as industries resumed production last year following the 2020 lockdowns during the pandemic.
“In 2020, we had more COVID-19 restrictions, which obviously restricted movement and economic activities,” Prosper Chitambara, chief economist at the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe, told NewsDay Business.
“The situation was better last year. We had improved movement and economic activity was much higher last year.”
Back in August, data from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe showed the country’s manufacturing sector had rallied following the Covid-fuelled lockdowns. Central bank governor John Mangudya said the recovery had gained pace after capacity utilisation grew during Q2 to 56% from 47% in December 2020, with some businesses hitting 95% of their capacity.
According to economist Clemence Machadu, the rebound boosted demand for fuel last year: “The trend was consistent with the increased economic activity for 2021 and the relaxed lockdown regulations, which saw some previously restricted sectors opening up and the ones that were operating increasing their capacity.
“This increased their fuel consumption for activities related to transportation, generators, heating and others,” he added.
Zimbabwe now has the highest fuel prices in the Southern African Development Community compared to regional peers, says a NewsDay report.
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