TEHRAN - Deputy minister of economic affairs and finance of Iran says the fuel rationing plan would make the country able to export 3.65 billion liters of gasoline every year and earn about 14 trillion rials (about $3.3 billion) from the exports.

“On average, 100 million liters of gasoline is produced in the country on a daily basis. If we could reduce fuel consumption by 10 million liters and sell it to other Persian Gulf neighbors, we would export about four billion rials (about $952,000) a day….that would be 14 trillion rials a year,” Mohammad-Ali Dehghan Dehnavi told ILNA.

According to Dehnavi, the share of gasoline in the Iranian households’ basket is only 2.5 percent so the increase in gasoline prices is not going to have a great impact on their livelihood.

He noted that increasing gasoline prices does not mean raising other commodity and services prices, adding "If gasoline prices rise 50 percent, it does not mean that taxi and freight transportation fees will also rise by 50 percent.”

The government wants to distribute the proceeds of the plan among the people and it would be fairer if wealthier people pay more while less privileged population get more subsidies, this is called "open income distribution", he explained.

Dehnavi further underlined some of the benefits of implementing the fuel rationing plan, saying “when fuel becomes expensive, people are encouraged to buy cheaper cars, and automakers will also be encouraged to upgrade their production lines to manufacture more fuel efficient cars, which will consequently lead to less fuel consumption and less air pollution.”

EF/MA