FUEL PRICES have gone up again this week, frustrating the head of the consumers’ union who said people had had enough with the excuses offered whenever prices are hiked.
Prices have risen by up to 3 cents a litre this week, bringing the cost of Unleaded 95 to €1.43 per litre in some cases. The vice-head of the petrol stations’ owners association Stathis Spartiatis said that as retailers they receive fuel shipment at whatever price set by the fuel companies. “We are just the recipients,” he told state broadcaster CyBC.
Petrol station owners normally make some four or five cents per litre of fuel sold and have justified prices by citing the increase in VAT by one percentage point to 18 per cent in mid-January as well as other state taxes, and crude oil prices.
The head of the consumers’ union, Loucas Aristodemou, said that fuel companies in Cyprus have a guaranteed profit “with no risk”.
Whenever prices go up, fuel companies cite a number of factors relating to the international price of fuel, how much they import, what stock they keep and what they paid for fuel, the union’s head Aristodemou said.
“Why should we be interested in this? Why should these be the factors setting fuel prices?” Aristodemou added.
“These factors are their own responsibility. We are not interested in them,” he said adding that the price of Brent crude oil and the dollar to euro exchange rate should suffice, as “they do abroad”.
“The state must stop condoning and supporting a fuel pricing system favouring only fuel companies at the complete expense of the consumer and the market,” he added.
The commerce ministry has noted that fuel prices are often higher than what is justified by crude oil prices but though the ministry has previously talked of setting a price cap, this has not been done.
Fuel companies Exxon Mobile, Hellenic Petroleum (EKO), Petrolina and Lukoil were fined almost €43 million by the competition commission in 2009 for “concerted practice,” ie for informally and tacitly coming to an understanding to influence the market. The violations took place between October 2004 and late 2006, but the Supreme Court overthrew the fine decision because the watchdog’s chairman had been appointed illegally, thereby rendering the fine invalid.
Prices have risen by up to three cents a litre just this week