In the black: customs documents expose Maldives’ chronic oil addiction
26 Jan 2011, 6:40 PM
The 15 percent increase in oil prices over the past five months has led to the Maldives spending almost US$100,000 more on fossil fuels, per day.
Customs figures obtained by Minivan News reveal the true extent of the country’s chronic addiction to fossil fuels, and extraordinary vulnerability to even minor price rises.
In 2010, the Maldives spent over US$245 million on fuel (including marine diesel, aviation gas, propane and petrol) – disturbingly, almost a quarter of the country’s US$1 billion GDP.
The vast proportion (US$200 million) of the country’s fuel spend was on marine diesel. Petrol accounted for US$24 million, liquefied propane US$10 million, and aviation fuel US$12 million.
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