(Seychelles News Agency) - Fuel prices in Seychelles are expected to drop as the cost of crude oil keeps falling on the global market, said a high official recently.

Amidst the negative impact on the global economy from the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for oil has dropped, resulting in a decrease in prices.

"The price is expected to be cheaper as suppliers from which we are buying fuel have indicated that they are seeing a reduction in the prices around the world. Crude oil has gone down from over $60 a barrel to $23," said Conrad Benoiton, the chief executive of the Seychelles Petroleum Company (SEYPEC).

In an interview with the Seychelles Broadcasting Cooperation (SBC), the commercial general manager at SEYPEC, Sarah Romain, said that the next two consignments of fuel the company is going to buy are based on this week's crude lower oil price.

At the moment, gasoline is selling at SCR17.92 ($1.29) a litre, 47 cents cheaper than it was before.

"This is a benefit that we are passing on to the consumers and we need to keep in mind that when there is this reduction, we need to think about the structure of our fuel price on the pump," she said.

Romain added that "today the price is SCR17.92 out of which there is the price paid to the supplier at a cost of SCR6.59 and then the government applies SCR8.58 tax, then there is the margin that SEYPEC puts in place as its profit."

With regards to the next consignment expected in the country, Benoiton said that the company does not yet know at what price fuel will be selling but "there is an expectation that it will be lower than what is it currently is selling at today."

He added that foreign exchange rates also play a role in the price of fuel on the pump and that a dollar has gone from costing SCR14.22 to SCR14.24.

SEYPEC's CEO took the opportunity to ask the public to stop panic buying LPG gas as this is creating a pressure on the bottling plant.

"We have an LPG tanker that is coming tomorrow morning and will be filling our tanks, giving us a stock that will last for six months. There is no need to buy gas in bulk," explained Benoiton.