From 2024, fuel in Latvia will have a mandatory biofuel additive, which will also affect the retail price of these products; in the long term, the purchase of CO₂ emission quotas will also drive prices higher.
The mandatory biofuel additive is nothing new, as the Latvian government already made the decision regarding bio-additives for petrol and diesel in 2009, with the percentage gradually increased, although such an additive was not required for arctic (winter) diesel. In order to curb rapidly rising fuel prices and the subsequent increase in the cost of all types of transport, the government lifted the mandatory biofuel additive requirement for petrol and diesel from 1 July 2022 to 31 December 2023, making it a voluntary measure, especially where stocks of biofuel components had already been purchased. Consequently, from 1 January 2024, 10% bioethanol will be added to 95-octane petrol, and from 1 April to 31 October, 7% biofuel will be added to diesel, which will impact fuel retail prices.