Libya’s Tripoli-based government said on 18 October it would raise the price of kerosene for commercial and industrial purchases to LD0.85 ($0.60) a liter from LD0.15 ($0.11) as part of a long-delayed plan to replace costly fuel subsidies with cash handouts. The price for household use is unchanged.
Internal and cross-border smuggling of oil products is estimated to cost the Libya economy hundreds of millions of dollars a year. The heavily subsidies products, the majority of which are imported, are some of the cheapest in the world. In the first nine months of 2019 Libya spent just over $2.2bn on fuel subsidies. (CONTINUED - 99 WORDS)