Plan introduced to address oil price hikes

BEIJING, April 5 — The central government has adopted a comprehensive and coordinated oil price readjustment plan to counter the effects of international oil price hikes. In a Xinhua News Agency report on March 26, officials with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) explained the main points of the plan.

.. the price differential between crude and refined oil prices is forcing many domestic enterprises out of business. However, recent price adjustments to refined oil prices to keep them in line with crude oil prices have put enormous pressure on other industries such as transportation and agriculture.

One of the measures implemented is a subsidy system for certain sections of the community and public service sectors. Further, fees or levies will be collected from oil producers who sell refined oil domestically.

The recipients of the subsidies will include farmers, fishermen and fishing firms, state-owned forestry enterprises, and urban public transportation firms.

For rural passenger shipping operators, the government will also adjust transportation charges, thereby passing on price increases to customers.

Similarly, travel charges and fuel surcharges will be levied for air, railway and road transportation.

Taxi drivers in the cities have been the hardest hit by continually increasing oil prices. The NDRC has urged local governments to lighten their burdens by implementing measures including regulating rental fees collected by taxi companies and cracking down on unlicensed taxi operators.

Xinhua