On April 5, turkmen.news published a video on its Telegram channel showing foreign drivers in Turkmenistan dumping tons of diesel fuel onto the ground. Since early April, the country has imposed a 300-liter limit on the amount of fuel that can be carried in truck tanks when leaving the country. Any excess must be paid for at a rate of 20 manats per liter — 20 times the official price. While the new fee appears close to diesel prices in neighboring countries, drivers have nevertheless been dumping fuel. It has now emerged that foreign truckers are required to pay in U.S. dollars at the official exchange rate, effectively raising the cost of each excess liter to $5.70.
How it was supposed to work
Export restrictions on diesel have been in place in Turkmenistan for only a few days, but their impact is already being felt — though not as intended. Instead of protecting the domestic market from fuel shortages, tons of diesel are being dumped onto the ground, polluting the environment. Turkmen consumers have also been affected, as freight carriers have raised logistics prices.
Since April 1, officials at Turkmen border checkpoints have been measuring the amount of diesel in the tanks of trucks leaving the country. The limit is 300 liters. For every additional liter, drivers must pay a duty of 20 manats — about $1 at the market exchange rate. By comparison, diesel in Turkmenistan costs about 1 manat (5 cents) per liter, while prices are roughly 70 cents in Kazakhstan and about $1 in Uzbekistan.
How it actually worked
In practice, only Turkmen citizens are allowed to pay the fee in manats. All others are required to pay in dollars, which banks then convert into manats at the official exchange rate of 3.5 manats per dollar. As a result, diesel effectively costs foreign drivers $5.70 per liter — nearly $2 more than in Hong Kong, where fuel is among the most expensive in the world. Few are willing to pay such prices. Instead of paying for excess fuel, drivers simply dump it on the ground.
Experienced truckers who regularly travel to or transit through Turkmenistan typically prepare by bringing manats for local transactions. For example, they may exchange $100 with private money changers for 2,000 manats and operate within the same informal economy as locals. In the case of the new duties, however, officials appear to be using the policy in part to accumulate foreign currency.
What to expect
The immediate losses are clear: fuel that has been extracted, refined and sold is being dumped at the border, contaminating the soil. Turkmen drivers are also dumping fuel — at least those traveling to or through Kazakhstan, where refueling is cheaper than paying $1 per excess liter in Turkmenistan. The new measure has also significantly increased logistics costs, which in turn raises the final price of goods.
Domestic prices could soon begin to rise, turkmen.news observers said. Most imports enter Turkmenistan by truck, and transport costs have already increased. Turkmen goods may also become less competitive abroad as their prices climb. In both cases, perishable goods and medicines are likely to see the sharpest increases, as refrigerated trucks consume large amounts of fuel both for transport and for cooling cargo — yet are counted as a single vehicle at checkpoints.
In the long term, Turkmenistan risks being excluded from some regional logistics routes at a time when competition for them is intensifying.
Turkmen.news initially assessed the diesel export restrictions as a potentially useful measure. They could help curb the shadow economy, prevent fuel shortages at gas stations, and redirect revenue from corrupt actors into the state budget. However, the first days have shown that the details require far more careful planning and closer alignment with reality.
