Petrol and diesel oil prices soar to almost BGN 3/litre

The prices of the most frequently used petrol in Bulgaria and of diesel oil can reach BGN 3/litre if oil prices continue to go up on international markets. This apocalyptic forecast was made on bTV yesterday by the Chairman of the Bulgarian Petroleum and Gas Association (BPGA) Andrey Delchev. He explained that one of the main reasons for the surge in retail prices of fuels was the excise duty charged on these by the State.

“Between 40% and 45% of the price enters the Treasury in the form of excise duty due to commitments undertaken by Bulgaria to the EU,” explained Delchev. According to him, no more than 7-8% of the price is shared among producers, wholesalers and retailers. He flatly denied allegations that the retailers’ profit is BGN 0.50/litre. “There can be no oil cartel in Bulgaria because this market is dominated by large international chains and they would not venture to agree prices on such a small market as Bulgaria since huge penalties for that are imposed by the European antitrust authorities,” commented BPGA’s head. He explained the almost uniform prices on the domestic market with the great competition on it.

Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, however, was adamant that the excise the duty on fuels is the minimum which Bulgaria has to charge in accordance with its EU pre-accession programme. “Incomes in the country could be adjusted because of the price hike of goods but no such analysis has been made so far." He demanded that, at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers or at the following one, an analysis be made on the components in fuel prices in addition to excise duties.

Meanwhile, only a day after Transport Minister Aleksandar Tsvetkov appealed to the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) to check whether there is a cartel agreement among fuel retailers, CPC initiated an inspection to explore the competitive environment on the markets for the production and sale of petrol and diesel fuel, and the reasons behind the rise in their retail prices. According to Minister Tsvetkov, the overall increase in fuel prices is due to anti-competitive behaviour rather than to objective reasons.

After Lukoil Bulgaria raised fuel prices by over 2% on Tuesday, petrol and diesel oil retail prices went up by about BGN 0.05/ litre. Yesterday, gas stations in Sofia were selling diesel oil at BGN 2.57/litre, up from BGN 2.52/litre a day earlier, and the most frequently used A-95 petrol was being sold at BGN 2.49/litre, up from BGN 2.44/litre. Thus, the most frequently used fuel in Bulgaria is already more expensive than in five European countries and its price is the same as in Slovenia, announced darikfinance. Diesel oil is more expensive in Bulgaria than in Spain and in 12 other European countries.

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