Sharjah24 – AFP: Long lines of motorists queuing for petrol have been snaking through the streets of Vientiane in recent days as Laos struggles with a growing fuel crisis.
Some parts of the reclusive communist nation have been suffering shortages for weeks, according to state media, but on Monday pumps in the capital began to run dry.
Importers have been hit by a drop in the kip currency since September, combined with low foreign exchange reserves and the soaring price of oil, driven by the war in Ukraine.
Petrol stations are limiting customers to a maximum 500,000 kips ($40), which buys less than 30 litres of fuel.
While Vientiane only started experiencing fuel shortages this week, the northern city of Luang Namtha ran out in late March, the Laotian Times reported.
Laos needs 120 million litres of fuel a month but importers are only able to source 20 million litres, the paper reported.
Parliament has moved to cut tax on gasoline from 31 percent to 16 percent and the country is trying to source cheap fuel from Russia, according to local media.
Government officials are also urging residents to carpool and use public transport, while British ambassador John Pearson tweeted it was "a good time to have an electric car".
The inflation rate reached 9.9 percent in April, up from two percent in January 2021, according to the statistics bureau.
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