THE RE-OPENING of petrol stations yesterday afternoon was declared a victory for the consumer by Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides as a people everywhere sighed with relief.
The three-day-old fuel shutdown was beginning to approach crisis point yesterday morning with reports of overnight petrol theft, empty schools and banks, patients’ problems, ruined holidays and increasingly irate motorists.
In one incident in Paphos, where no stations had been open for three days, two brothers came to blows when one was caught siphoning petrol from the other. In Paralimni five cars were emptied by thieves and there was a near riot at one station in Nicosia.
“We have realised the problem created for consumers; indeed they have been unjustly inconvenienced and they always have to pick up the bill,” owners’ association chairman Stefanos Stefanou said after calling off the strike, He said the petrol station owners had decided to show good will.
Paschalides welcomed the owners’ “very responsible” decision to lift the strike measures and re-start normal operation under the prices stipulated by the decree.
“Today we feel that a battle has been won on behalf of the consumer; we are sorry for the inconvenience they went through,” Paschalides said.
The announcement that the measure had been lifted was made following meetings between Paschalides, the association of petrol station owners and the fuel companies that started at 12.30 pm.
These were preceded by a meeting between them before the House Commerce Committee, which set a 4pm deadline for them to come to an agreement.
If not, Parliament was ready to approve a bill allowing the government to cap wholesale prices.
Stefanou added that they decided to lift the measures following an “intense discussion amid a very good climate.”
Pump owners decided to shut down their outlets on Monday, after the minister issued a decree putting a cap on fuel prices for eight days.
The retail price-cap for a litre for 95-octane petrol was 95 cents, and 97 cents per litre for 98-octane petrol.
The price for a litre of diesel was marked at and 87.5 cents.
But it seems unlikely that the prices set by the decree will last until Tuesday, when it expires, as new, more expensive, shipments of fuel are expected to arrive.
Paschalides said his ministry would have a look at the new data concerning the fuel arrivals “and tomorrow (today) we will issue an announcement in relation with the price or anything else.”
The minister said the announcement “could amend the ceiling.”
Paschalides said next week they will start discussions with those involved regarding the serious issues and problems troubling the sector.
He said a bill was also in the pipeline that would allow the ministry to put a ceiling on wholesale prices, which will solve “other problems and will be beneficial to consumers.”
But a fuel company official suggested this could cause more problems.
“If the bill is in line with the European Union acquis communitaire and the attorney-general okays it then we have no way of reacting,” the official said.
However, there will be a problem, the official said, as putting a cap on wholesale prices was like automatically setting the profit margin of station owners whose income varies depending on their agreement with the fuel company.
The official said the cap was not justified as fuel prices in Cyprus were not unreasonable compared to other countries in the region.
He said the fuss created by the cap at the end of the day cost consumers more than it saved them as they ultimately wasted more petrol looking for open stations.
