Venezuelan Methanol Exports Was Affected by EU Tariff's Improvement

The exports from Venezuela’s state-owned oil and natural gas company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), especially of methanol, would be affected severely in 2014, owing to the application of tariff increase by the European Union (EU).

The European Union’s tariff payable by Venezuela would be increased from 2.2 percent to 5.5 percent, reports Venezuelan newspaper El Universal.

Venezuela was listed among the various countries with tariff preferences at 0 percent level for exports to Europe until 2010, as set by the framework of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).

However, the situation changed and the country currently pays 2.2 percent tariff on exports to Europe, but it would be increased to 5.5 percent by 2014.

Venezuelan state-owned petrochemical company Pequiven and its other joint ventures export about 700,000 tons of methanol worth around US $ 252 million annually to Europe.

Industry experts from PDVSA estimate that the income from exports of methanol could decline by 3.5 percent which would be around US$ 8.8 million, based on a recent study on tariff hike impacts conducted by the petrochemical industry.

With regard to this, Pequiven through the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining has requested the national Government to address the issue and ask the EU to consider a bilateral measure of tariff exception for Venezuela.