Clearances of autodiesel in March 2022 were 0.2% higher than in March 2019, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

At 309 million litres, autodiesel clearances exceeded pre-Covid-19 levels and were the highest for the month of March since records began in 2000.

Monthly excise clearances of autodiesel March 2022

Clearances of petrol in March 2022, at 78 million litres, were 40% higher than March 2021 and 15% higher than March 2020.

Clearances
This refers to the excise duty that is paid on products – diesel, petrol, kerosene, etc. – when they arrive into the country, as opposed to when they are sold at the forecourt.

Excise clearances of marked gas oil in March 2022 were 8% higher than in March 2021 but bucking the trend are clearances of kerosene, which, in March 2022, were 10% lower than in March 2021.

Marked gas oil is used for off-road purposes such as agriculture and heating of larger buildings.

The March 2022 Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for autodiesel, gas oil and fuel oil were all at the highest level since records began in 2000.

Annual clearances selected fuels 2000-2001

The table above shows the annual time series trend for the four fuels for 2000 to 2021.

The annual total for unleaded petrol volumes for 2021 was 825 million litres, 7% higher than in 2020.

The annual volume of autodiesel was around 3.4 billion litres in 2021, an increase of 7% on 2020 volumes.