Rising fuel prices hit Guatemala’s transportation sector hard

Guatemalan truck operators temporarily blocked border crossings and highways in at least six departments on Monday to protest rising fuel costs. 

Traffic was reestablished on Monday night after Coordinadora de Transporte de Quetzaltenango and other transport associations agreed to have a meeting with the authorities.

The country has seen five fuel price increases in recent months, with the price for a gallon of regular gasoline being 35.5 quetzales on Monday, while that of diesel was 39.8, according to the energy and mining ministry.

The rising cost of fuel has been one of the main drivers of higher inflation in Guatemala, with annual inflation accelerating to 9.70% in October from 2.87% in January, central bank figures show.

The government has implemented several fuel subsidies this year as a way to support the transport sector and consumers. 

In January-October, the cost of the subsidies reached 3.18bn quetzals (US$408mn), local daily Prensa Libre reported.