GASOLINE shortages once again this week were crippling Egypt's streets. Cars waited in long queues for hours to fill up their tanks. The shortages this time are in the availability of diesel and octane-80 gasoline, the cheapest fuels, as well as octane-90 and octane-92. The current crisis is more acute in governorates with huge agricultural land spaces, like Assiut and Beheira, because of the harvest season that requires large quantities of diesel to run agricultural tractors and harvesting machines. As with previous shortages, black market smuggling flourishes and many drivers of minibuses and microbuses exploit the situation to increase transportation fees for passengers. "I find no other option but to pay what the drivers ask for. I want to get back home after a long day at work," says Sameh Mohamed, a 30-year-old security officer at a Downtown bank. "Recurrent fuel shortages have become very frustrating and a lot of fights break out at gas stations between drivers," a taxi driver said. He added: "Besides, I spend hours at gas stations before I can fill up my car with octane-80, which enables me to work only half the time I usually do." Officials do not deny the shortage in supplies at gas stations. Hani Dhahi, head of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, was quoted early this week as saying that the diesel crisis will end in a few days as more than 80 tonnes of diesel arrived to Suez and Alexandria sea ports and are being injected into the market in order to meet growing demand. He added that more quantities would arrive soon.
