Fuel prices rise; Estonians use cooking oil instead of diesel

With fuel prices rising, resourceful Estonians who use older cars have switched from filling up with diesel at the gas station to using cooking oil sold in supermarkets, writes Estonian public media ERR News.

The practice of replacing fuel with cooking oil is not unique to Estonia. Some Estonians who use older cars with simpler engines have turned to using cooking oil, as oil costs about one euro per liter, while the price of diesel has exceeded two euros per liter. Karlo, who uses regular cooking oil in his 1997 Volkswagen Transporter van, said that the method is only suitable for cars with older engines, and that a little diesel must be added to the mixture anyway, because with a tank filled only with cooking oil, the car will have difficulty starting.

This season, Karlo has already driven 2,000 kilometers with the cooking oil and has not yet encountered any problems.

Cooking oil can be purchased in Estonian stores for as little as 99 cents per liter, while in Latvia, where Karlo also lives near the border, it costs even less. He added that in addition to lower costs per kilometer driven, the oil also reduces the unpleasant aroma of diesel, and the feeling is like driving in a bakery.

Mariann Järvela, head of communications at the supermarket chain Selver, pointed out that

sales of cooking oil have increased significantly recently, but the company could not comment on what exactly buyers do with it.

Meanwhile, Peeter-Tanel Orro, chief specialist of the Tax and Customs Board, informed that regardless of whether it is a fossil fuel or not, any liquid that is used as a fuel or an additive to it is subject to taxes. This means that if rapeseed or any other edible oil is used as a fuel, either in its pure form or mixed with diesel, the same excise tax should be paid on it as on diesel. The specialist added that the responsibility for declaring and paying excise tax lies with the shoulders of those who use other liquids instead of fuel.

However, as far as Orro knows, the Tax and Customs Board has not yet identified any cases where edible oil was used as fuel.

Read also: Estonian Finance Minister: Lowering excise tax on fuel is foolish idea