Gas price rises 19%

  Aug 30, 2021 3:21 pm Ibrar Younas 5244
● 10kg gas cylinder price goes up from 90 TL to 107 TL ● Reports of supply hoarding

Gas price rises 19%

Taken from this week's issue

 

THE price of a standard-sized gas bottle went up by almost 20 per cent on Thursday amid reports of sellers hoarding supplies ahead of the announcement to boost profits. 

The Deputy Prime Ministry and Economy and Energy Ministry announced that the price of a household-type 10kg gas cylinder went up from 90 TL to 107 TL.

However the ministry’s Fuel Department said that suppliers had demanded a 30TL increase.

“As a result of negotiations, a 17 TL price adjustment for bottled gas was approved by our Ministry,” a statement said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Economy and Energy Minister Erhan Arıklı said on Thursday that two gas supplier companies, dealers and distributors found the 17 TL hike on bottled gas “insufficient” and that they had not started to supply gas to the market yet.

“If the concerned supplier company does not supply product to the market, we will use all the power given to us by the law and many sanctions will follow, even licence cancellation,” he warned in a statement issued via social media.

“We had to increase the bottled gas by 17 TL. Especially the 39 percent increase in the price of gas in the international stock market caused us to make this hike. . . Imagine that the same bottled gas is sold for 124TL even in Motherland Turkey.

“Our people’s reaction to the hike is justified. . . But two gas suppliers companies, dealers and distributors found this hike insufficient.

“One of the two fuel companies that bring gas to the country and give it to other distributor companies found the price we gave insufficient and has not started to supply gas to the market yet.

They want to increase their profit. Likewise, dealers want to increase their profit margin from 6.7 TL to 11TL, grocery stores and markets want to increase their profit margin from 2.5TL to 3TL, companies want to increase their share from 20.2TL to 25.8TL, and filling companies want to increase their share from 29.4TL to 39.8TL.

“If we accept these demands, the bottled gas price will rise to 120 TL. We can’t indulge these greedy dealers who act for profit without thinking about how the people are living in hardship. . . 

“What these folks don’t understand is this: on January 19, 2021, bottled gas was included under the ‘Controlled Goods’ list. According to the law, the ministry determines the gas prices by considering the costs.

“As a result, the bottled gas price has been determined by our ministry. It’s out of the question to sell goods above these prices.”

Meanwhile a bottled gas dealer in Gazimağusa was fined 51,390TL for hoarding more than 2,000 bottles of gas.

The Deputy Prime Ministry and Economy and Energy Ministry’s Commerce Department teams announced that the fine was issued to the Adalıer Gas Sales Facilities in Gazimağusa after it was raided on Thursday.

The fine was equivalent to “20 percent of the current value of the stock found” a statement said.

Many members of the public reported being unable to find gas bottle on sale at shops and markets in the days before the price rise was announced.

Marketers’ Union President Fuat Nesip Nalcıoğlu said on Monday that the gas shortage was due to a “heavy demand” as consumers rushed to buy gas before the price rise.

Mr Nalcıoğlu pointed out that most markets do not have full cylinders left and that all markets were experiencing the same problem as they had been unable to replenish stocks from the bottled gas distributors.

He said it would take several days for newly imported gas to be emptied into fillings stations for the empty bottles to be refilled and redistributed to outlets.



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