Queues form at petrol stations in north as two companies announce stop on sales

Queues have formed at gas stations in the north after two companies, K-Pet and AlPet announced they would stop selling fuel as of Wednesday, reports said.

The two companies announced that under the current conditions they were making losses on sales and as soon as their stations were empty, they would stop selling.

Turkish Cypriot websites have been reporting over the past three days that they were having difficulty in finding Octane 95.

The president of the petrol stations association, Levent Cagdal, said that after the last increase in fuel prices, the Turkish Lara’s exchange rate had fallen again and fuel suppliers were calling for a new increase in prices. They were losing 1-1.30TL per litre sold, they said.

He noted that compared to the Greek Cypriot side, the price of gasoline is still cheaper in the north, while the price of milk and meat is cheaper in the south of the island.

The selling price of the 11 kg gas is also reported to start at 107 TL but again the two companies consider that “they are selling at a loss” and stopped the sales asking for a new increase.

The vice president of the petroleum association, Ertan Fidan, told Yeni Duzen newspaper said sales would continue only while stocks last and that discussions on the issue were ongoing. They have asked the ‘economy minister’ to take steps.
“The gas stations are using their stocks right now. There is congestion at the gas stations,” he told the newspaper.