Maputo, May 7, 2026 (Lusa) - Transport operators and drivers in Maputo are considering their costs and leaving their vehicles at home following the rise in fuel prices, which from Thursday will reach 45% for diesel, against a backdrop of supply shortages.
At the Petromoc petrol station on Avenida 24 de Julho, one of the few with fuel in the Mozambican capital, dozens of vehicles have been queuing with motorists and public transport operators trying to refuel since the early hours of the morning, with the new prices in effect following Wednesday night’s announcement.
“On days when there’s something I can do using public transport, for example, that’s the option,” said the archaeologist Alexandre Maleane, standing in the queue, admitting that the rise in fuel prices will force many families to ration their journeys and reduce the use of private cars.
As a resident of Machava, on the outskirts of Maputo, he reports that he relies on his car daily to get to work, but admits he will leave it at home on some days due to the impact of the rise on the family budget.
“We’ll have to cut back on outings. We don’t have that much in savings, so we’ll have to cut back on one thing or another. We’ll only use the car for essential trips,” he said.
The new prices will force many families to review their monthly transport costs, at a time when many motorists are still trying to work out the financial impact of the fuel price rise on their household budgets, which includes a 12% rise in petrol per litre and a 45% rise in diesel, he said.
“It used to be 500 meticais [€6.70], and I could get by for two days. Now, I think it’ll take about 700 meticais [€9.30] to cover those two days. So, I don’t know about the monthly cost yet. With this rise, we still need to do some calculations to see what the impact will be,” he said, worried.
Amidst car horns, idling engines and long waiting times, several motorists told Lusa that they had chosen to fill up at that petrol station because they considered the service more flexible compared to other parts of the city, at a time when difficulties in accessing fuel persist, with several stations closed, a situation that has been ongoing for several weeks.
Luiz Jorge Magule, a 39-year-old IT technician, also in the queue trying to get 2,000 meticais (€26.60) worth of petrol, admitted that the increase was expected, given the international context, but the knock-on effects on the cost of living and the social impact of rising prices leave him apprehensive.
"Fuel prices are going to rise now, transport costs will follow soon, bread and essential goods will go up, everything will go up," he said, urging the government to show more empathy towards the public, calling for wage increases to ease financial burdens.
He also said that, despite the difficulties, many families will continue to rely on private vehicles to get to work and navigate the city, even as public transport remains insufficient to meet demand.
Among transport operators, many of whom have been forced for several weeks to spend the early hours of the morning queuing for fuel at petrol stations, Ronildo Januário is concerned that the increase in operating costs will force a review of fares and reduce profit margins, particularly in school and semi-collective transport services.
“The car is my daily life; I depend on it for work (...) I think we’ll also have to raise the price a bit,” the school transport driver told Lusa.
Feliciano, a minibus driver on the Junta-Namaacha route, charges 130 meticais (€1.70) for the trip, but only for the time being, as rising prices are making it impossible to maintain that fare, hoping that the government will adjust the fares and resolve the fuel shortage at the pumps.
“Prices have gone up, but we want fuel at the pump when we need it (...) If I have to stop the car because there’s no fuel, then hunger has entered my home,” he said, adding that he will fill up with every penny he has in his pocket just to keep the tank full.
Daniel Chapo, the president of Mozambique, said that fuel price hikes were inevitable, citing the impact of the Middle East conflict on international prices and supply chains, and emphasising that the government had postponed the price review for almost two months, awaiting market stabilisation.
A litre of petrol now costs 93.69 meticais (€1.23), up from the previous price of 83.57 meticais (€1.10), while diesel has risen from 79.88 meticais (€1.06) to 116.25 meticais (€1.54), lamp oil from 66.86 meticais (€0.87) to 97.56 meticais (€1.29), cooking gas from 86.05 meticais (€1.14) to 87.82 meticais (€1.15) per kilogram, and vehicle natural gas from 41.11 meticais (€0.54) to 52.73 meticais (€0.69) per litre.
EYMZ/MYAL // ADB.
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