In 2023, China's oil imports hit a record high.
January-October 2023, China**Imports were 473.22 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 144%；The cumulative export volume of refined oil products is 530940,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 332%。
Data**: China Business Intelligence Network.
Although the difference between the import and export volume is huge, China's dependence on external oil resources is so high, why should we export the hard-won oil?
Moreover, many comments on the Internet pointed out that the domestic oil is often a liter of yuan, and the export of a liter is only sold for a piece!
This huge ** difference, many riders are puzzled:Why is it so expensive to sell it to our own people??
Isn't it in vain to spend so much effort to import a large amount of oil, but export it at a price lower than the market price?
But is that really the case?
1. The export price is indeed lower
First of all, the export of refined oil products will indeed be a little lower. But it's not as exaggerated as it says on the internet.
According to the database of the China Business Industry Research Institute, China's refined oil exports in October 2023 were 51720,000 tons, the export amount of refined oil is 4248 million US dollars, which is about 5899 yuan a ton (calculated according to the current exchange rate).
As a comparison, the domestic gasoline adjusted on December 5 ** is about 9045 yuan a ton.
A ton of gasoline is about 1355 liters.
So, the average ** of exported gasoline is about 435 yuan liters, while the domestic gasoline ** is about 7 yuan liters.
Although it is not as exaggerated as it is spread on the Internet, the ** of exports is indeed low enough. Who is sour, I don't say.
2. There is a reason why domestic oil prices are expensive
I believe that many riders have heard of the "one liter of oil and half a liter tax", and the money we spend on refueling is not only used to buy oil, but also includes consumption tax, value-added tax, urban construction tax and education surcharge and so on.
Just as we have to pay tobacco tax when we buy cigarettes, we also have to pay taxes when we buy oil.
9045 yuan a ton of oil, consumption tax will be 152 yuan liters, the tax rate is about 22%. Then there is VAT, which is 13%. The urban construction tax is based on the address of the gas station, and there are three grades. Another education surcharge is 3% of the amount of GST and VAT.
Combined, these surcharges account for nearly 40% of oil prices!
Now we know why the price of domestic refined oil products is higher than that of exports.
3. Exports are to alleviate excess demand
Some riders may also have questions, since the exported oil is sold so cheaply, why do you need to export?Why not stay in the country and sell it to us at a higher **?
First of all, oil is not only used as an energy source, it has strategic and financial attributes in addition to economic attributes, and is a special commodity.
As a populous country, China has a high demand and dependence on oil, but it is currently unable to be self-sufficient by relying on domestic production, so it needs to import oil to stabilize the stability of domestic energy.
As one of the world's largest oil consumers, China can occupy a certain share of the international market by exporting oil at low prices, which is conducive to enhancing China's international influence and improving China's voice and influence in the global oil market.
Second, there will be a certain amount of excess demand in China's oil market. For example, due to the promotion of clean energy in China, the growth of oil demand has begun to slow down. In order to absorb the excess capacity, it is necessary to expand the sales market through the export channel. We are not the only one who sells oil in the international market, so in order to gain a competitive advantage in the international market, the export of gasoline is often relatively low.