Rwanda has announced new fuel prices, with the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) confirming a significant rise across petroleum products. Under the latest pricing, a liter of petrol now costs 1,989 Rwandan Francs, up from 1,862 Frw, while diesel has increased from 1,808 Frw to 1,900 Frw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This marks an increase of 127 Frw per liter for petrol and 92 Frw for diesel \u00a0one of the most notable fuel price hikes Rwanda has seen in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Antoine Marie Kajangwe said , Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM), explained that the increase in fuel prices is the result of two major factors.\u201cSimply put, the price rise was driven by two things,\u201d he said. \u201cIn July, the government reinstated VAT on petrol. Once you add 18% VAT to any product, the price inevitably goes up. That explains part of the increase you are seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that supply chain disruptions over the past two months also played a major role. \u201cMost of our imported fuel typically comes through Tanzania because it\u2019s cheaper than sourcing from Kenya,\u201d Kajangwe said. \u201cBut due to recent logistical challenges, many importers shifted to Kenya where fuel is more expensive and that had a ripple effect on local prices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rwanda adjusts fuel prices every two months, reflecting international market conditions and the time it takes for shipments from Gulf nations to reach Kigali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On November 15, 2025, a barrel of oil was trading at $60.09, down from $64.10 on September 1. Prices fluctuated throughout early November, ranging from $58 to $60.98 per barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local pump prices are influenced by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
global oil prices over the previous two months,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
transport and shipping costs from Dar es Salaam or Mombasa to Kigali,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the exchange rate, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
VAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Claudien Habimana, Managing Director of Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 P\u00e9troli\u00e8re Ltd (SP), the increased reliance on the Kenyan corridor has had one of the biggest impacts. \u201cAt least 99% of Rwanda\u2019s fuel used to come through Tanzania,\u201d he explained. \u201cBut due to delays in offloading ships and security challenges during the Tanzanian election period, more fuel was imported via Kenya \u00a0and Kenyan prices are higher.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The shift is notable:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In September 2025, 34% of petrol came through Kenya and 66% through Tanzania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In October, imports through Tanzania jumped back to 87%, with Kenya supplying 13%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, Kenya supplied 23% of Rwanda\u2019s petrol in the past two months, up from just 1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFuel from Kenya is costlier,\u201d Habimana said. \u201cNaturally, prices at the pump increased.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that diesel prices would have been even higher without government subsidies. The government absorbed 78 Frw per liter of diesel, but no subsidy was applied to petrol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Transporters say the rising prices are tightening already thin profit margins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cyprien Musabirema, a truck driver operating between the Southern Province and Kigali, said fuel costs have increased dramatically. \u201cI used to spend around 260,000 Frw on fuel for a trip. Now it\u2019s around 320,000 Frw,\u201d he said. \u201cClients don\u2019t want to increase transport fees, so we end up absorbing the loss to avoid losing business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Motorbike taxi operators (abamotari) are also struggling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Modetse Nsengiyumva, a moto rider, said: \u201cWhen you tell a customer that fuel has gone up, he tells you his salary hasn\u2019t increased. But our profits keep shrinking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A rider using petrol priced at 1,989 Frw per liter said his daily profit can barely exceed 2,000 Frw after covering fuel and other expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kajangwe said the government is monitoring the situation and working on ways to stabilize prices, including making fuel sourced from Kenya cheaper over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He insisted that transport companies should not use the price increase as a pretext for unjustified inflation. \u201cBased on our analysis, transport costs should rise by only 4 to 6 Frw per kilometer for goods coming from the East, and 6 to 8 Frw for goods from Rusizi,\u201d he noted. \u201cWe do not expect a major impact on general commodity prices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, economic analyst Teddy Kaberuka believes any increase in fuel costs inevitably affects consumer prices. \u201cWhen petrol and diesel go up, the cost of moving goods goes up too,\u201d he said. \u201cThis pushes market prices higher, whether we want it or not. People end up buying fewer goods, and consumption falls.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fuel prices across East Africa currently stand at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uganda: 1,420 UGX \u2248 2,059 Frw per liter<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kenya: 184.38 KES \u2248 2,069 Frw<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tanzania: 2,752 TZS \u2248 1,635 Frw<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burundi: 4,000 BIF \u2248 1,967 Frw<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DR Congo: $1.223 \u2248 1,773 Frw<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rwanda has announced new fuel prices, with the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) confirming a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":56855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[247],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized-en"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topafricanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topafricanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topafricanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topafricanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topafricanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56852"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.topafricanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56856,"href":"https:\/\/www.topafricanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56852\/revisions\/56856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topafricanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topafricanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topafricanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topafricanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}