OREANDA-NEWS  The Ministry of Energy of Russia has proposed to the government to limit the number of gasoline exporters in order to stop gray schemes of its export abroad and thereby curb the growth of prices in the domestic market, Kommersant writes, citing sources.

The ministry considers it necessary to form a limited list of oil refineries (refineries) producing commercial gasoline and allow exports only to them. The decision will help to stop the gray export of gasoline, which has become one of the reasons for the rise in wholesale prices in Russia in recent months.

This practice gained great popularity last year. The exchange price of gasoline in Russia then fell due to sanctions, and prices abroad remained high. Therefore, it became profitable for exporters to buy it on the domestic market, and then send it for export. Since export prices were higher than domestic ones, manufacturers received subsidies on the damper — the state paid them extra for selling fuel to Russian buyers, not foreign ones.