- Paraffin carries no fuel levy, so Treasury’s cut of R1.50 on petrol and R3 on diesel from 4 November does not apply.
- Early data points to a wholesale paraffin increase of about R2.25 to R2.88 a litre in November. The maximum shop price is now R31.82.
The government’s fuel levy cut from 4 November will not touch paraffin, the fuel many poor households use to cook and heat their homes.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced in his mini-budget on Wednesday, 21 October, that the fuel levy will fall by R1.50 a litre on petrol and R3 a litre on diesel from 4 November to 1 December 2026. It will then fall by R1 on petrol and R1.50 on diesel until 5 January 2027.
Paraffin carries no fuel levy, according to the Central Energy Fund’s price structure, so there is no levy to cut.
Another increase for paraffin is still expected in November. Early data from the Central Energy Fund shows that on 26 October, paraffin was selling R2.74 a litre below its cost. The fund’s average since 2 October is R2.88, but that figure counts days before October’s new price took effect. Measured against October’s price, Scrolla calculates the gap at about R2.25. So the early wholesale increase is somewhere between about R2.25 and R2.88 a litre.
What that could mean in the shop: on past patterns, the maximum retail price of paraffin moves by about a third more than the wholesale price. A wholesale rise of R2.25 to R2.88 would add roughly R3 to R3.85 to the maximum shop price, which is now R31.82. That would put it at about R34.80 to R35.70. That is Scrolla’s calculation from early data. The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources announces the official change before 4 November.
Scrolla has reported that the maximum retail price of paraffin was R15.98 in January, R37.10 at its peak in May and R31.82 now. Statistics South Africa’s 2023 General Household Survey found that 2.5% of households used paraffin as their main fuel for cooking.
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) said in its 6 October statement on October’s fuel increases:
“Poor households cannot simply switch to electricity, gas or solar power.”
A litre of petrol or diesel will carry less tax from 4 November. Whether pump prices fall depends on the monthly price change that takes effect on the same day. A litre of paraffin will carry no relief. Reports of the mini-budget announcement that we reviewed do not mention paraffin.
