Report by Sello Lentsoane

South Africa has sufficient fuel supplies despite concerns over potential shortages linked to tensions in the Middle East, officials said Wednesday, while warning that a prolonged conflict could place pressure on availability and prices in the coming months.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa has sufficient fuel supplies despite concerns over potential shortages linked to tensions in the Middle East, officials said Wednesday, while warning that a prolonged conflict could place pressure on availability and prices in the coming months.

Speaking during a virtual media briefing, South Africa's Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) and the Fuel Industry Association of South Africa said the country currently holds about 8 million barrels of crude oil in strategic reserves -- equivalent to roughly two weeks of supply -- down sharply from a storage capacity of about 45 million barrels following reserve sales in 2016 and 2022.

However, there was no immediate cause for alarm, said the agencies, noting that the country imports less than 70 percent of its petroleum from the Middle East, with additional supplies sourced from countries such as Angola and Nigeria, helping diversify supply channels.

"As we are saying at the moment, we are not even touching on that strategic stock because there's a lot of fuel that is available in the international market, outside the Middle East, that is coming to the country," said Robert Maake, director of the Fuel Pricing Mechanism at the DMPR.

Officials cautioned, however, that the ongoing conflict could threaten supply stability if it persists, particularly as global oil markets remain volatile.

Maake said South Africa is likely to experience significant fuel price increases in April, comparable to the surge recorded in February 2022 following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

He added no specific government measures to cushion consumers from the expected increases had been confirmed.

With petrol prices possibly rising by up to 6 rand (about 0.36 U.S. dollars) per liter and diesel by as much as 10 rand (about 0.59 dollars) per liter, transport and food costs are expected to push up, with minibus taxi operators already signaling possible fare hikes.

Meanwhile, rising diesel demand, particularly in the agricultural sector, has led to "sporadic shortages" in some regions. AgriSA chief executive officer Johann Kotze told Xinhua that panic buying had contributed to localized supply constraints, especially in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces.

Noting the biggest issue is uncertainty, Kotze warned that the expected diesel price increases could have serious implications for agricultural production and food security.