Kazakhstan residents polled on acceptable prices of AI-92 petrol

59.7 percent of Kazakhstan residents polled by Kapital.kz think that the price of the most popular AI-92 petrol should not exceed 106 tenge ($0.7) per liter. According to the respondents, this price would have been suitable both for consumers and fuel stations. 7.3 percent of the respondents stated that the fuel price should not exceed 120 tenge ($0.8). The same number of the polled residents are sure that the fuel prices should not be regulated, as the market should not be limited. Another 4 percent answered that the prices have to be at the Russian level: 134 tenge ($0.9) per liter. According to 21.8 percent of the respondents, the problem is not in prices, but in the deficit of fuel at the processing level. Prices of petrol and diesel fuel went up in the beginning of April. In particular, AI-92 is currently 6 tenge more expensive: 112 tenge ($0.76) per liter. Chairman of Kazakhstan Agency of Natural Monopolies Regulation Murat Ospanov recently noted that the deficit at Kazakhstan fuel market is caused by shortage of local fuel. According to him, over 35 percent of AI-92 and AI-93 petrol is currently imported from Russia.