Ecuador spent about $2.77 billion on fuel subsidies for the January-September period, including high-octane naphtha, diesel and gas for cooking, the central bank said. The amount represents a 13% increase from the same period last year. During the first nine months of 2013, Ecuador imported a total of $4.14 billion in oil derivatives. Of the total spent on oil subsidies, about 49% went to diesel, 36% to high-octane naphtha and 15% went to cooking gas. According to official data, the main beneficiaries of the subsidies in Ecuador are high-income earners, due to their energy-consumption levels. Last year, the government spent about $3.4 billion in fuel subsidies. Currently, the government is reviewing its policy of subsidizing fuel to refocus the approach. Patricio Rivera, minister coordinator for Economic Policies, said recently in an interview the option to refocus fuel subsidies would be to set consumption quotas, and those […]