Petrol used to cost R1.90 per litre in South Africa – Now it’s R21.48

The increases to South Africa’s petrol price have been noticeably higher than inflation, with the price currently being over 10 times more expensive than it was three decades ago.

This has led to South Africans frequently lamenting the high fuel costs and their impact on their cost of living.

These are usually valid complaints, especially when comparing petrol prices from the past to the present, such as unleaded 93.

In October 1995, a litre of unleaded 93 petrol was selling for R1.90 inland and R1.80 on the coast.

By October 2025, this figure had grown to R21.48 and R20.69, respectively.

This represents a 1,093% and 1,024% increase for the two fuel prices, which far exceeds the roughly 417% inflation over the same period.

A key reason for this is that South Africa’s fuel price mainly depends on international oil prices, chiefly due to the country having no local oil reserves and relying on imports.

This is the case for all but Sasol’s synthetic diesel, which is produced using coal.

In September 1995, the period directly influencing the fuel prices for October, a barrel of Brent Crude oil cost $16.70, and by the same month in 2025, the price had increased to $67.95, a 307% rise.

The Rand’s substantial weakening also contributed to the situation, from trading around R3.66 to the Dollar in 1995 to R17.43 last month.

These factors are key contributors to why the current fuel prices are so high.

Refinery issues

Beyond international factors, another concern is the local refining of fuel.

In 1994, South Africa’s total fuel refining was 563,000 barrels per day, which climbed to 651,000 by 1997, and then 703,000 barrels per day by 2014.

Additionally, between 2013 and 2018, 75% of liquid fuels used in South Africa, such as petrol, diesel, and LPG gas, were refined locally.

This figure only rose to 78% in 2019, and total production had also stalled, with only 538,000 barrels of product being refined daily despite an installed capacity of 718,000 in 2020.

The refining industry has faced significant challenges due to the high cost of upgrading plant equipment to produce cleaner fuels, contributing to the slowdown.

In addition, in the last five years, three of the six fuel refineries in South Africa have shut down, reducing total capacity by around 49%.

Consequently, in 2025, total running capacity had fallen to only 250,000 barrels a day, less than half of 1995’s production figures.

Combined with a continuous increase in demand for fuel, South Africa has become ever more reliant on fuel imports.

This can be seen with the Transnet estimates, which show that around 60% of the fuel consumed in the country will arrive in refined form in 2025, compared to just 22% in 2019.

Increased demand, reduced local capacity, and internal issues have all contributed to the massive increase in petrol prices that now troubles South Africans.