In recent years, the shadow fuel market in Ukraine has been growing rapidly. Now experts estimate the amount of counterfeit gasoline at about 20% of the total turnover. It affects not only cars, but also motorists, pedestrians, the environment and even the state budget.
Why is counterfeit gasoline so dangerous? OBOZREVATEL.
How does cheap gasoline come from?
Gasoline at Ukrainian gas stations is mostly imported. Different companies buy it for about the same price and pay the same tax. Therefore, it is not surprising that at many gas stations, fuel prices are approximately within the same framework. But there are also gas stations where gasoline is traditionally much cheaper. The difference can be up to 3-4 UAH. How do they manage to save so much?
According to a study by the Institute of Consumer Expertise, some companies in a “makeshift” way gasoline is “diluted” with various non-excisable substances at mini-refineries. These are small enterprises with the simplest equipment.
“They do a primitive distillation,” explains the director of Consulting group A-95 “ Sergey Kuyun. – Additional components and additives are added to low-octane gasoline of Euro-2, Euro-3 standards in order to raise its octane and improve some properties. This is how fuel is obtained. “
According to the estimates of the experts of the “A-95” group, mini-refinery in Ukraine about 25. In general, the A-95 group estimates the volume of the gasoline market at about 2.5 million tons. Of these, about 500 thousand are counterfeit fuel.
The volumes in which some gas station chains import excisable additives under the guise of solvents are also striking. For example, according to the A-95 study, companies associated with the BRSM-Nafta network imported about 2 thousand tons in 2020. monomethylaniline (prohibited substance related to amines).
“It is enough to add 1% to a ton of gasoline, 10 kg of this monomethylaniline and you get 95 from 92nd gasoline”, – Sergey Kuyun explains the principle of operation
In addition to amines, counterfeit gasoline may contain increased levels of benzene, sulfur and acid-containing components (methanol, various alcohols).
Why is such gasoline dangerous for a car?
Each component has its own specific effect on the vehicle’s systems.
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Benzene. This substance is highly toxic. It corrodes the fuel system and can lead to failure.
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Sulfur. If there is too much of it in the fuel, carbon deposits form, the fuel injectors become dirty and the catalysts are “killed”.
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Monomethylaniline. This is the most dangerous of the substances that are added to gasoline. Since 2013, aromatic amines (including monomethylaniline) have been banned from use in gasolines sold in Ukraine. At first, these substances really disappeared from Ukrainian gasoline, but now they are being fixed again. Older cars do not react as sharply to monomethylaniline. In new ones, it can damage the engine.
What is the danger of counterfeiting for a person?
The release of these toxic substances into the environment increases the level of air pollution. Already from the air, these substances end up in the human body and some cause irreparable damage to health. This poses a threat to both motorists and pedestrians.
Sulfur… It makes the exhaust more polluted, which causes hazardous oxides to enter the air. These substances affect the upper respiratory tract and accumulate in the human body.
Monomethylaniline. The substance is extremely toxic, it is associated with cancer of the pulmonary system.
“If there is a high concentration of monomethylaniline in the fuel vapor, the person who inhales it may even lose consciousness,” says Kuyun.
How does counterfeit harm the market?
Among other things, counterfeit gasoline damages the economy and the entire gas station market. Fuel is diluted with non-taxable substances in order to avoid paying taxes. As Sergey Kuyun explains, about 7 UAH per liter of gasoline is an excise tax. While the net margin of gas stations is about UAH 3. If you manage to make excise-free gasoline, you can earn at least an additional 7 UAH. IN in general, various manipulations with the composition allow increasing the margin up to UAH 12. Due to this, the owners of gas stations can afford to sell such gasoline for several hryvnias cheaper. At the same time, their earnings are growing at times, and minimal taxes go to the budget.
In addition to legal network filling stations with petrol of dubious quality, there are also a lot of illegal, so-called “liquors”, the amount of which can only be estimated indirectly. This situation on the market leads to the fact that gas stations that operate transparently and sell good quality gasoline are simply not profitable. In fact, they are also motivated to go into the shadows:
“When you spend 1.5-2 million on a legal refueling, and next to you there are” liquors “that cost 10-20 thousand dollars, then of course their prices are different, – says the ex-president of the Association of Oil Products Market Operators of Ukraine Leonid Kosyanchuk… – You have to cover your costs for salaries, for lighting, for the payback of the object. Because of this situation, the inflow of the legal sector and taxes to the budget are reduced. “
The fact that cheaper gasoline can contain various impurities is unlikely to be news to people who are actively refueling them. But given the general income level of the population and the constant rise in fuel prices, for many motorists it is price, not quality, that plays a primary role. Therefore, even taking into account the detrimental effect of diluted fuel on the car, on human health and on the environment, the demand for it has not yet fallen.
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