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# Panama Seeks $30 Million More for Fuel Subsidies
- URL: https://balboa.news/panama-seeks-30-million-more-for-fuel-subsidies/
- Published: 2026-10-02T14:09:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T14:09:56.000Z
- Author: Balboa News Desk
- Tags: Economy

Panama’s government has requested another $30 million to finance its fuel-subsidy program through December after using $66 million during its first six months.

Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Fausto Fernández presented the proposed budget transfer to the National Assembly’s Budget Committee on October 1.

The additional funding would bring expenditure close to the $100 million maximum authorized by the Cabinet when the temporary program was established earlier this year. The transfer is a request and should not be treated as completed spending until it receives the necessary approval.

The subsidy supports public and selective transport, school buses, tourism operators, commercial cargo fleets, agricultural machinery and artisanal fishing. Its purpose is to limit the effects of higher international fuel prices on transport costs and passenger fares.

Fernández said the program would remain in place while international prices exceed the levels recorded before the energy crisis. The government would consider ending it only after prices return to those levels and remain stable for an unspecified period.

The request coincides with another increase in retail gasoline prices. The price of 95-octane gasoline rose from approximately $1.26 per litre when the subsidy began in April to $1.42 from October 2.

During the committee discussion, Fernández acknowledged that the government cannot guarantee that subsidizing fuel for transport and production sectors produces lower food prices for consumers. Final prices also depend on production inputs, distribution and other international costs.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance records who uses the subsidy, when it is used and which type of fuel is purchased through a platform administered with Panama’s government-innovation authority.

Those records are not currently public. The ministry has not yet released a breakdown showing how much of the $66 million went to public transport, commercial fleets, agriculture or fishing, although Fernández said the information would be provided to lawmakers.

Sources: La Prensa