Guam motorists groaning at the current gas price on island which is now over $4.50 per gallon, likely are aware that others in the region, the CNMI for one, pay more. But it seems the Vital FSM Petroleum Corporation has been doing a pretty good job of holding back on price increases in the Federated States.
Now, as it tells customers prices increases are coming, Vital is bragging about its efforts, saying in a press release that it has consistently maintained lower fuel prices in the FSM when compared to other locations in the region, such as Guam, the Marshall Islands and Palau, despite the increasing costs of importing fuel products.
The pump price of gasoline in Guam has increased since January 2018 from $4.029/gal to $4.529/gal as of Oct. 9, 2018.
In Pohnpei, the pump price of gasoline has also increased from $3.750/gal in January 2018 to the current pump price of $4.250/gal. “Simply put, FSMPC is just no longer able to offset the growing fuel costs,” said FSMPC chair Faustino Yangmog. “Pump prices in the FSM are still as low as $4 per gallon of gasoline, which is the current price in Kosrae. The current pump price in Guam is $0.52 per gallon more than that in Kosrae, and $0.27 more per gallon than in Pohnpei. Although this is great for FSM motorists and looks great for the corporation, it isn’t realistic for us to continue absorbing rising fuel costs. We’ve held off price increases as long as viably practical, and now must pass some of these costs on to the domestic market. “It is very likely that, in spite of this latest price increase, we will still be paying less at the pump than motorists in Koror, Majuro and even Guam, and, in the Board’s opinion, that is an achievement for the corporation,” Yangmog said. This is the third price increase since January 2018, and is scheduled to become effective on Oct. 20,.