A Rabat petrol station owner had to scrap plans to sell cheaper diesel yesterday after pressure from the supplier.
Mario Camilleri, owner of M&N Camilleri fuel pump, wanted to sell the San Lucian diesel supplied by the Falzon Group at €1.33 per litre, 2c below the maximum allowed price.
However, Mr Camilleri abandoned the plan yesterday morning even before he sold the first litre of cheaper diesel after he was contacted by Joe Falzon, the owner of the Falzon Group.
“I was told that the increased profit margin given to us by the supplier in January would be withdrawn, forcing me to put the price back up at €1.35,” Mr Camilleri said.
I am very angry and disappointed
He said that, on January 1, the Falzon Group had improved the profit margin for filling station owners. He had planned to pass on the increased profit margin to the consumer.
When contacted, Falzon Group CEO, Cornelia Zammit German, insisted all fuel stations were free to sell fuel at whatever price they deemed fit subject to Malta Resources Authority regulations.
“It is neither within our remit nor within our rights to dictate to any fuel station the price at which it sells fuel,” she said, adding the price at which Falzon sold diesel to fuel stations was substantially the same as that sold by competitors.
However, she skirted a question as to why Mr Falzon had called to inform Mr Camilleri the additional profit margin would be withdrawn.
“I am very angry and disappointed,” Mr Camilleri said after having taken the bold step, which would have seen price competition return to the fuel market.
The last time fuel prices were in competition was more than 40 years ago when foreign oil companies like BP, Esso and Shell operated here before the oil sector was nationalised.
The fuel market was then liberalised in 2007, three years after Malta joined the EU but this did not benefit consumers at the pump. Enemed (the State company that took over Enemalta’s petroleum division last year) enjoys a virtual monopoly and a handful of other fuel suppliers have always pegged their prices with that of Enemed.
Nationalist MP Kristy Debono, who posted the Times of Malta story announcing the price reduction on her Facebook page, urged private companies to engage in a competitive market. “It is up to the competition authority to investigate whether there is a cartel but the increased profit margin the private operator gave petrol pumps shows that it managed to get a better deal on diesel than the government company,” she said.
Questions sent to the Malta Consumers and Competition Authority on whether it would be investigating this cartel-like behaviour were not answered by the time of writing.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com