The heads of several important business groups called yesterday for the Fernández Government to lower the price of key combustibles. Issuing the call were Celso Marranzini, president of The National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP); Antonio Espín, former president of the Association of Industrial Firms of Herrera; Cesáreo Contreras, president of the Association of Ranchers and Farmers; and Ignacio Méndez, president of the Association of Industrial Firms of Herrera. They all recalled the government’s 1996 promise to adjust prices of these products whenever world market conditions change, and noted that world oil prices are currently at their lowest since the early 1970s. The government owns the DR’s sole refinery, operated under contract by Shell, and it sets the minimum sale prices for petroleum products in the Dominican market. Marranzini said that while he does not favor lowering the price of gasoline, he felt that certain derivatives that affect the family budget gasoil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas should have their prices lowered. Both Méndez and Espín urged at least the lowering of prices for gasoil, which could help lower the costs of production for Dominican industry. Industry and Commerce Minister Luis Manuel Bonetti declared yesterday that the Fernández Government would not be lowering the price of combustibles. He characterized the recent drop in world crude oil prices as "not significant," and in any case, a fall in crude prices does not automatically equal a fall in the prices of derivatives. The government procures crude at forward prices and must pay the contracted price, which is part of ensuring a secure supply. When there is a significant drop in costs for the government’s procurement of crude, it will be reflected in the prices of petroleum products, he insisted, pointing to a March 1998 reduction. As far as gasoil goes, he declared, its current price is lower than it was during the government of Dr. Balaguer.
