JOHANNESBURG - Consumers may not feel the full impact of the latest fuel price increase immediately, but the additional costs are expected to filter through to the prices of goods in the coming weeks.
According to Road Freight Association CEO Gavin Kelly, most goods currently being transported have already been ordered and are sitting in warehouses.
This means prices are unlikely to change immediately, with businesses first having to work through existing stock.
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“Most of the goods are already at the warehouses and the trucks have their orders ahead of time. The prices will remain the same until the stock is depleted,” says Kelly.
He says consumers could start seeing the impact within the next month or so.
For the freight industry, however, smaller operators will feel the impact of the fuel increase immediately.
“Traditionally, they go to the forecourts like everyone else for their fuel,” says Kelly.
Larger freight companies often have access to discounted fuel because they buy in bulk directly from depots.
But Kelly says even bigger operators are not immune to the pressure.
“Even the large freight companies can find themselves with their backs against the wall. Not necessarily the smaller guys only.”
Petrol prices will rise above R30 a litre from midnight on Wednesday, reaching about R30.25 a litre.
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Diesel prices will increase by between R2.84 and R3.24 a litre.
Kelly says South Africa also needs to reduce its reliance on imported petroleum products.
He argues that the country should make greater use of its domestic resources to produce fuel.
“We need to get Sasol to a position where we are using our coal reserves. They are ours; we don’t have to buy them from somebody else.”
“We can produce oil, fuel, petrol from coal and bring down these massive expenses,” he adds.