Bolivia allows private sector to import, sell refined products

Bolivia's government authorized the private sector to import and sell refined fuels in a bid to mitigate severe shortages, Energy Minister Marcelo Blanco said.

Distributors will be able to import up to 20,000 liters/month of diesel and gasoline and sell at market rates under the terms of Supreme Decree 5644, Blanco said late July 1 in a broadcast press conference in La Paz.

The decree, which follows nationwide protests and roadblocks that curbed fuel distribution, marks the most significant step away from two decades of state control since the election of investor-friendly President Rodrigo Paz last October.

"We've improved the legislation so that there's greater transparency and the security that fuels can be purchased in timely fashion. Those who wish to import are welcome," Blanco said. "We're trying as hard as we can to normalize distribution."

State oil company YPFB has committed to providing 72 million liters of diesel this month to the agricultural sector, particularly sugarcane farmers, Blanco added. Bolivia has about 200,000 hectares of sugarcane plantations that supply the ethanol industry.

Bolivia battled severe shortages of fuel, food and medicines in the second quarter as protesters blocked highways around the country for 55 days to protest rising fuel costs and demand Paz's resignation. The protests left 10 dead and caused $2 billion in damage and lost business. Paz, who plans to open Bolivia's hydrocarbon industry to private investment to reverse declines in oil and natural gas output, decreed a state of emergency last month.

Bolivia, which mainly supplies natural gas to Brazil, saw hydrocarbon export revenue fall 34% year over year to $1.1 billion in 2025, according to the Bolivian Foreign Trade Institute.