Government’s fuel import bill nearly tripled in the first quarter of this year when compared to the same period last year, Minister of Energy and Business Kerrie Symmonds disclosed Wednesday as he cautioned that could rise further.According to him, the Mia Mottley-led administration spent a total of $455 million on imported petroleum products from January to April this year, while for the same period last year the bill was $162 million.“That statistic alone tells you the nature of the uphill battle this little island is in, in order to maintain the quality of life, the standard of living, all the things that we have become accustomed to, all of which are fuelled by the fuel which we import, the petroleum products that we import, and the cost of it has escalated alarmingly,” Symmonds said.