WASHINGTON: In January-May 2017, Latvian gasoline imports dropped 8.6% from the first five months of 2016, while diesel fuel imports fell 8.5% year-on-year, the Central Statistical Bureau reported LETA. In January-May 2017, Latvia imported 111.453 million liters of gasoline and 535,167 tons of diesel fuel. Latvia imported EUR 43.371 million worth of gasoline in January-May this year, which was 17.8% more than in the respective months in 2016, and the value of diesel fuel imports rose 31.4% year-on-year to EUR 245.473 million.
Lithuania was the main supplier of gasoline and diesel fuel to Latvia in the five months of 2016. In the first five months of this year, Latvia imported 70.884 million liters of gasoline from Lithuania, accounting for 63.6% of all gasoline imports during the period (63.8% in the first five months of 2016), and 38.23 million liters of gasoline or 34.3% from Finland. Gasoline imports from Lithuania dropped 8.9% year-on-year, while gasoline imports from Finland decreased 8.1% compared to the first five months in 2016. In the first five months of this year, Latvia imported 322.494 tons of diesel fuel from Lithuania, which made up 60.3% (45% a year ago) of total diesel fuel imports and was a 22.4% increase against the first five months of last year. Diesel fuel imports from Finland fell 26.3% year-on-year to 140,866 tons, making up 22.5% of total diesel fuel imports, and diesel fuel imports from Russia was down 43.9% to 45,198 tons, or 8.4%. During the first five months of this year, Latvia also imported 240 tons of fuel oil for EUR 92,000, which was 3.6 times less than a year ago. Latvia has been importing fuel oil only from Estonia this year. During the first five months of 2016, Latvia imported 121.977 million tons of gasoline, 584,795 tons of diesel fuel and 854 tons of fuel oil.
