Benin Has Fuel Reserves for 3 to 6 Months, Léandre Houngbédji Says

Benin government spokesperson Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji said on SRTB on October 18 that the country’s fuel reserves could last three months, or even six, compared with about one month previously. He said the queues seen particularly in the north did not amount to a shortage and partly reflected consumers shifting from the parallel market to service stations. After meeting fuel distributors on October 14, the government gave them 48 hours to restore normal supplies nationwide and pledged to speed up administrative procedures. Houngbédji also said fuel price increases had been contained following an arbitration by the president with the trade minister.