The Cyprus Consumers Association (CCA) has issued a scathing criticism of fuel retail practices, citing significant price disparities particularly in Nicosia, following its second pricing investigation.
The CCA has called for authorities to thoroughly investigate what it describes as “market distortions” and lack of healthy competition in fuel retail, particularly in the Nicosia district.
The investigation revealed substantial price variations in Nicosia, with differences of up to 12 cents per litre for 95 octane petrol, 14 cents for diesel, and 28.8 cents for heating oil, as recorded on November 14.
The association reports that Paphos district maintains the highest average fuel prices across all types, while Famagusta shows the smallest price variations.
CCA President Marios Drousiotis told philenews that both investigations yielded similar results, suggesting persistent market irregularities.
He questioned how such large price differences could exist when the standard retail margin granted by fuel importers to petrol stations is only 6-6.5 cents per litre.
The Pancyprian Petrol Station Owners Association’s Vice President, Christodoulos Christodoulou, revealed this has been an ongoing issue for a decade.
He noted some stations are selling fuel at retail prices below others’ wholesale costs, questioning how stations can operate with margins of 1-1.5 cents per litre when operating costs are around 4 cents per litre.
A previous complaint to the Competition Commission, supported by 1,200 pages of documentation, was ultimately dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
