On July 1, 2025, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) announced new prices for petroleum products, with the price of a litre of petrol increasing by Frw 170, rising from Frw 1,633 to Frw 1,803 , while diesel rose to Frw 1,757 from Frw 1,647.
These prices came into effect on July 2 at 6:00 a.m. The authority also indicated that these new petroleum product prices include revised Value-Added Tax (VAT) charges.
Speaking to Rwanda Television, Dr. Jimmy Gasore explained that the new prices have risen due to the implementation of Cabinet decisions, as well as increasing costs on the global market.
'What is different from usual is that the resolutions arising from the Cabinet's decisions have now been implemented. As Rwandans may recall, in February this year, the Cabinet established new taxes, in particular stipulating that, starting on July 1, the price of petrol would include value-added tax. That tax has now been applied, which is why the increase is higher than what we usually see for petroleum products,' he said.
Dr. Gasore stated that the Government had taken measures to prevent price increases from becoming excessively high, committing to retain certain subsidies on petroleum products.
As a result, the price of petrol rose by 11%, although it was initially projected to increase by 18%. Similarly, diesel was expected to increase by 14% but only rose by 6.8%.
Dr. Gasore explained that there should not be significant changes in transportation fares and costs.
He gave the example of motorcycle taxi rides, noting that for a ride costing Frw 500, the fuel portion should not exceed Frw 200. Therefore, the 11% increase in fuel prices would not justify raising the fare by more than Frw 20.
'We believe that, in reality, the recent increases should not lead to higher national transport costs.'
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Antoine Marie Kajangwe, noted that the recent price hikes are not alarming for business operations in general.
He explained that, typically, transportation costs for goods imported from neighboring countries or transported within Rwanda account for 22% of the total cost of the goods.
'That 22% is not significant enough for transportation to substantially raise prices for essential food items that every Rwandan needs on a daily basis,' Kajangwe noted.
He explained that, for example, for rice transported from Rusizi District in the Western Province, the new prices might add approximately Frw 6 per kilogram in transportation costs.
This means that for a 25-kilogram sack of rice from Bugarama, the price would increase by only Frw 150.
He further clarified that for other goods such as maize from Nyagatare District or potatoes from Musanze District, transportation costs might rise by about Frw 4.
'These are not amounts that should be perceived as significantly driving up the prices of essential daily food items. However, the government has also foregone certain revenues to ensure that these price increases remain manageable,' Kajangwe noted.
RURA emphasized that, in response to rising global petroleum prices and in order to ease the burden on consumers, the Government of Rwanda has maintained sufficient petroleum reserves in its storage facilities.
IGIHE
