Much is being said and written about the ever-increasing cost of gas and fuel supplies to the consumer. Suppliers of these utilities seek to justify their prices by referring to those of other countries where such prices are higher than in Malta. Without at the same time providing information on income levels in these countries, all that these suppliers are doing is trying to take the Maltese consumer for a ride.

What the Maltese consumer would like to know is why suppliers in Malta seem unable to provide these utilities at the much lower prices charged in such countries as Cyprus and Luxembourg.

The answer probably has nothing to do with the international price of oil since this is the same for all buyers; I suspect our high prices are due to overmanning and overhead costs.

It would, for example, be interesting to know what proportion of the prices charged to the consumer is directly linked to the actual cost of the imported oil or gas.

It would be possible then to seek specific answers to what is contributing to overpricing and perhaps to the introduction of corrective measures.