Mexico's crackdown on fuel smuggling is disrupting illicit supply chains and boosting sales for compliant players operating through regulated imports, sources say.
Fuel imports from Texas by tank truck were halted for at least three weeks as part of Mexico's broader push to curb smuggling at the US border.
Authorities increased permit checks and cargo inspections in April, although cross-border flows have gradually resumed this week, according to one source familiar with the matter. Rail flows were largely unaffected, as most of the smuggled fuel crosses via tank truck.
As a result, some retail fuel stations in northern Mexico that sold gasoline and diesel below market prices faced shortages in late April, operating intermittently or closing for some days, one fuel retailer told Argus.
While compliant retailers saw higher sales, major importers and marketers, including state-owned Pemex, also benefited from the border closure. Executives from a private company with a valid import permit told Argus sales rose by 15-20pc on a yearly basis in some regions.
The US-Mexico border remains an active corridor. Several Texas cities host terminals dedicated to fuel exports, with suppliers and truckers among the key players. But only a limited number of private-sector companies in Mexico hold valid import permits, meaning many tank truck shipments enter irregularly or avoid paying proper taxes.
Collateral damage
Mexico's tax authority on 9 April suspended US independent refiner Valero's fuel import permits as part of the efforts to fight fuel smuggling.
The suspension was lifted on 23 April, but the two-week stop disrupted supply in several regions.
Although Valero operates about 290 retail fuel stations of the 13,800 across Mexico, the company sells gasoline and diesel to other retailers and fuel marketers. Valero's fuel sales account for about 10pc of Mexico's gasoline and diesel demand, according to the company.
Mexico has long battled fuel theft, tax evasion and contraband. Illicit fuel is estimated to meet up to 30pc of Mexico's 1.2mn b/d gasoline and diesel demand, according to the finance ministry.
Much of it enters by mislabeling refined products at the border as petrochemicals, additives or biofuels — which are not subject to the excise tax of Ps7.0946/l ($1.34/USG) for diesel and Ps6.4555/l for regular gasoline.
