ANP and Mercado Livre join forces against counterfeit lubricants
An important initiative to combat irregularities in the lubricants and fuels sectors is underway! On Thursday (June 27), the board of the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP) approved a technical cooperation agreement with the Argentine company Mercado Livre.
The aim is to curb the sale of irregular products on the market-leading virtual commerce platform, including lubricating oils not registered with the ANP, and to curb the resale of methanol as fuel, in disagreement with the agency’s rules.
Under the agreement, the ANP will be able to directly remove advertisements for these products that are being sold irregularly on Mercado Livre. The agency will also have access to information from the ads to use in its enforcement actions, including tracking down possible unauthorized producers. Read more:
Lubricants in the sights of criminals
The lubricants sector is concerned about increasingly frequent irregularities and unfair competition. According to Alexandre Bassanezi, president of ICONIC, one of the leaders in the segment, the honest market ends up being affected by the sale of products resulting from tax evasion and avoidance, as well as adulterated oils. According to him, it is common for original packaging from well-known brands to be stolen and used to fill adulterated oils.
Read the full interview on the Valor Econômico newspaper website (closed to subscribers):
https://valor.globo.com/empresas/noticia/2024/02/26/adulteracao-e-roubo-preocupam-setor-de-lubrificantes-diz-iconic.ghtml
The authorities have been cracking down on crime in the lubricants market. In April this year, the ANP fined four companies in São Paulo for producing and selling finished industrial lubricating oils without authorization from the agency. The fines could reach R$5 million.
Read more: https://grudiario.com.br/produtora-de-oleo-lubrificante-e-interditada-em-guarulhos/
The risks of methanol
The year 2023 was marked by an increase in the adulteration of gasoline and ethanol with methanol, a corrosive and toxic substance capable of damaging a car’s engine in just one fill-up, as well as being a health risk.
In an interview with the UOL website, Emerson Kapaz, president of the Legal Fuel Institute (ICL), explained that methanol arrives legally in Brazil for two purposes: the manufacture of plastic laminate and the production of biodiesel (the latter accounting for the smallest fraction of the total imported).
“However, as a liter of methanol is approximately R$1 cheaper than ethanol, gangs have started using it to adulterate fuel. The mixture can cause enormous wear and tear on the engine, with high maintenance costs, as well as being carcinogenic and even causing blindness in those who come into direct contact with it,” he says.
The full article is available on the UOL website.
Suspicious? Report it!
If, when you fill up or change your oil, you suspect that you have been the victim of counterfeit or off-specification products, which can cause serious problems to vehicles and damage to drivers, assert your rights. Go to the Report section of the ICL website and make your complaint.
