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Thailand's Fuel Price Structure and Reform Calls: Subsidy and Overlapping Tax Issues
Components of Thailand's Fuel Price Structure
Thailand's fuel prices are composed of four main elements: ex-refinery costs, taxes (including excise, local, and value-added tax), fuel funding (such as the Oil Fuel Fund), and marketing margins. Currently, ex-refinery costs are benchmarked against oil prices in Singapore, which serves as the oil trading hub for Southeast Asia.
Diesel Subsidies and Calls for Reform
The Thai government presently caps diesel prices at 33 baht per litre, providing a subsidy of approximately 18 baht. Without such subsidies, diesel prices could rise to as much as 50 baht per litre. Areephorn Asawinpongphan, an energy expert from TDRI, suggests reforming the fuel price structure, stating that more effective management could lead to significantly lower oil prices than today.
Civil Society Demands for Change
Civil society networks are urging the government to address the energy issue and remove excise taxes on fuel. They argue that high fuel prices are driven by overlapping taxes and costs, including value-added tax, oil fund levies, local taxes, environmental taxes, and refining and marketing margins. These groups advocate for reforming the complex tax and cost structure to establish more reasonable fuel prices.
*Source: YouTube: Thai PBS World (2026-03-26)*
