Salvadorian Distributors Decry Foreign Oil Co
Salvadorian Oil Product Distributor Association President Julio Villagran denounced on Wednesday the oil-national-market control by transnationals.

The foreign companies are responsible for the increase in fuel prices, before which the government appears unflappable, he asserted.

The executive asserted that President Elias Antonio Saca´s economic cabinet knows the problems in a great extent, "but it does nothing about it."

He warned that Salvadorians will have to adjust to a new tariff, with which the increase in hydrocarbon prices reaches its 12th consecutive week.

Drivers should pay now $0.25 more for one special gas gallon, $0.23 more for that of regular gas, and $0.6 over the current price of a gallon of diesel.

With that increase, the price of special and regular gas reached $3.74, and diesel´s went up to $2.84.

According to the businesspeople, the Esso, Shell, and Texaco consortiums manipulate the market, from imports to retail sale, thus fixing a stable price does not depend on the distributor, but on the oil company.