Petrol station owners on several islands and affected localities in Greece on Thursday shut up shop in protest against price ceilings imposed by the government on unleaded petrol, which they say are forcing them to sell at a net loss.
The Petrol Sellers Federation of Greece (OBE) on Thursday expressed support for its members affected by the price ceilings, saying that no one had a right to force petrol station owners to sell at a loss and that no threatened sanctions "will make us accept measures that wipe out petrol stations".
Petrol station owners have gone on strike on the islands of Samos and Cephallonia, as well as several on the island of Corfu, complaining that wholesale prices are actually higher than the permitted maximum retail price. There are also numerous petrol stations closed in other areas.
OBE has sent invoices to the Regional Development Ministry showing that wholesale prices are higher than the imposed retail price ceiling from areas where the ceiling was imposed only on retail prices and not wholesale. It demanded that the government either scrap the price ceiling or impose it at all levels of the supply chain in order to protect consumers and retailers.
As of Wednesday, the government imposed price ceilings on unleaded petrol in 13 prefectures in Greece, without an expiration date. A ceiling is also imposed, for the first time, on wholesale unleaded prices in five of the 13 prefectures affected by the retail price ceiling.
The prefectures (and highest prices for unleaded recorded) affected by the ceiling are: Cyclades islands (1.724 euro per litre), Cephallonia (1.769 euro per litre), Corfu (1.765), Lesvos (1.722), Grevena (1.736), Evros (1.744), Evrytania (1.745), Fokida (1.735), the Dodecanese islands (1.724), Lassithi (Crete, 1.788), Rethymno (Crete, 1.774), Samos (1,734) and Chios 1.739).
The ceiling on wholesale prices was imposed on five of those prefectures: Dodecanese (1.654), Lassithi (1.718), Rethymno (1.704), Samos (1.664) and Chios (1.669).
ANA-MPA
