Why delivering diesel to Bolivia along the Paraná costs more than it should

Bolivia imports almost all of the diesel it consumes. Since Supreme Decree 5644 of 30 June 2026, private companies may import fuel and sell it at market prices, alongside the state company YPFB. That change puts logistics at the centre of the price: when fuel is sold at market prices, every cost incurred between the loading terminal and the buyer’s tank appears in the delivered price.

For deliveries into eastern Bolivia, one of the main corridors is the Paraguay–Paraná waterway, a 3,442-kilometre river system linking the Río de la Plata to Paraguay and to Bolivia’s river terminals near Puerto Quijarro and Puerto Suárez. When the river is high, it is an efficient route. In practice, three factors routinely push its cost up: the water level, the shortage of storage at the receiving end, and the small number of companies providing the services the route depends on.

The route in brief

A river delivery to eastern Bolivia typically has four legs:

1. Loading. Product is loaded onto tanker barges at terminals on the lower Paraná or the Río de la Plata.
2. River transit. Pushboats move barge convoys upstream, first on the Paraná and then on the Paraguay River.
3. Discharge. Cargo is discharged either at terminals in Paraguay, around Asunción and Villeta, or further north at the Bolivian terminals on the Tamengo canal near Puerto Quijarro.
4. Inland delivery. Product reaches the buyer by rail or road. Fuel discharged in Paraguay continues by tanker truck across the Chaco.

Each leg has its own contract, its own operator and its own risk of delay. Most of the extra cost on this route comes from delay.

1. River levels set the real capacity of every convoy

Barge convoys on the waterway are planned around a navigable depth of about 10 feet. When the river falls, the authorities limit draft, and each barge must carry less. In October 2025, Paraguay’s naval authority limited the main channel to 9 feet and the section north of the Remanso bridge to 8–8.5 feet, leaving convoys at around 75% of normal capacity. At the end of that month, the river at Asunción stood at 0.21 metres.

A convoy costs roughly the same to run whether it is full or not: the pushboat, crew, fuel and time are fixed. When loads drop, that fixed cost is spread over fewer tonnes. During the 2024 low-water period, Paraguay’s river shipping chamber (CAFyM) reported an average surcharge of 30% on river freight, with vessel capacity reduced by 40–50%. In January 2023, a similar 30% low-water surcharge applied on the Río de la Plata–Asunción route, and 17 vessels were held at the Vuelta Queso pass waiting for depth.

Low water also adds indirect costs: lightering (transferring cargo to reduce draft), splitting convoys, and waiting at critical passes. Each lengthens the voyage, and time on the river is always paid for, either as freight or as demurrage.

2. Limited storage turns every delay into a cost

Storage is the buffer that lets an importer buy when the river is high and freight is cheap, then draw down stock when it is not. In Bolivia, that buffer is thin:

• In December 2025, the government reported that YPFB’s reserves covered about 4.5 days of diesel consumption.
• The liquid hydrocarbons terminal at Puerto Aguirre, one of the main private river terminals, holds about 15 million litres. A single YPFB barge shipment through Puerto Quijarro carries about 10 million litres.
• Most terminals, depots and pipelines in the country are operated by YPFB. Under Decree 5644, a private importer selling 5,000 litres or more must sell from its own or a rented storage plant, and service stations selling both subsidised and imported fuel need separate tanks and lines.

When one shipment can nearly fill a terminal, cargo has to be discharged, moved inland and sold before the next one can arrive. Barges waiting to discharge accrue demurrage. In October 2025, barges loaded with diesel waited at Puerto Aguirre’s dock because the customs authority had not recognised the terminal as a primary customs zone. The fuel had arrived, but it could not be discharged.

Scarce storage also carries a price of its own. Whoever controls available tank capacity can charge for it, and importers without secured space pay the most, usually at the worst moment.

3. A small number of service providers

The route depends on a short list of specialised services: tanker barges and pushboats, discharge terminals authorised for hydrocarbons, rail and truck capacity inland, independent inspectors, and customs agents at the border. On the upper Paraguay River in particular, few companies can provide each of these services.

Limited competition shows most when capacity tightens. When low water cuts the carrying capacity of the fleet, the remaining space goes to those who pay for it, and surcharges apply across the market. Scheduling becomes a constraint as well: a cargo that misses its barge slot or terminal window can wait days for the next one.

Some costs are regulated. Paraguay’s navigation and ports administration (ANNP) charges a toll of US$1.30 per tonne on the waterway, and confirmed in July 2026 that it would not increase. The larger variable costs, including freight, surcharges, storage and waiting time, are negotiated, and they rise when few providers are available.

How the delivered cost builds up

Only the first line is set by the international market. Everything below it is logistics, and most of it can be managed.

What importers can do to control the cost

• Plan purchases around the river. Levels on the Paraguay River are usually highest around mid-year and lowest in the last quarter. Contracting and moving volume while draft is available avoids surcharges.
• Secure storage before the cargo moves. Confirm tank space, the terminal’s hydrocarbons authorisation and its customs status in writing before loading.
• Agree laytime and demurrage terms in advance. Know who pays if a convoy waits at a pass, a terminal or customs.
• Compare routes. Diesel also reaches Bolivia through Arica in Chile, the southern pipeline system from Argentina, by road from Paraguay and, since September 2026, from Brazil through Guayaramerín. The cheapest route changes with the season.
• Verify counterparties and secure payment. Use independent inspection at loading and discharge, and pay through escrow or a confirmed SBLC rather than in advance.

This article is for general information only. It does not constitute an offer to sell, or legal, tax or investment advice. Figures are taken from the public sources listed and may change.