The price that service station owners and fuel traders have to pay for diesel or gasoline is currently higher than the maximum price they are allowed to charge customers, the Belgian Federation of Fuel Traders reported on Monday. fuels and fuel (Brafco). It argues that the existing maximum price should be abolished and replaced by a system of ‘recommended prices’.
The maximum price applies only to the last link in the chain, that is to say the owners of service stations and fuel traders. But the problem, according to Brafco, is that this maximum price follows with a certain delay the evolution of oil prices on the international markets. This means that the first links in the chain – oil companies, importers and wholesalers – can immediately pass on the increase in world market prices, while the last link must respect the maximum prices.
Concretely, fuel traders and service station owners are currently selling at a loss, around 15 to 16 cents per liter more than the maximum price, according to the federation. “They must now either respect the maximum prices and therefore sell at a loss – which is prohibited by law – or sell above the official maximum price, but that too is not allowed”, explains Johan Mattart, managing director from Brafco. A third option is to temporarily close the gas station, “but nobody wants to let their customers down,” he adds.
For the organization representing fuel and fuel traders, it is time to abolish maximum prices. The federation advocates a system of “recommended prices”, as in the Netherlands. This means that the price consumers pay for heating oil or diesel would currently be higher than the maximum price.