Although the international price of oil has been increasing marginally every week over the past few weeks, with the exception of last week, the price of petrol in Malta is still higher than that of 15 EU member States.
The price of diesel in Malta is above that of 17 EU member states, and above the weighted average of the 19 euro area, where it is €1.149 euro per litre!
This information was published in the last European Commission Weekly Oil Bulletin last Monday, 13 June.
The 15 EU member states where the price of petrol is less than in Malta are: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
In Bulgaria, the price of petrol is 96.6 cents per litre, i.e. 31.4 cents less than in Malta, or 24.5 per cent less.
The price of diesel is less than in Malta in the same EU member States where petrol is cheaper than in Malta, with the exception of Cyprus – where it is €1.161 per litre, and includes Belgium, Germany and Greece.
There are five EU member states where the price of diesel is less than €1.00, namely Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Poland.
In Bulgaria, the price of diesel is 95.051 cents while in Luxembourg it is 95.1 cents per litre, that is 20.9 cents less than in Malta, or 18 per cent less.
It would be interesting to find out how much profit the state-owned company Enemed has succeeded in accumulating from the sale of petrol and diesel over the past year.
The government has collected more than 70.9 million euro in duties and taxes on petrol and diesel in the past six months!
On 15th June 2009, the price of petrol in Malta was €1.06 per litre. There were only eight EU member states then which had a lower price than Malta!
The price of diesel seven years ago was 95 cents per litre. There were only nine EU member states that had a lower price for diesel on 15th June 2009.
The Malta Automobile Club maintains that the importation, storage and wholesale of petrol and diesel should not remain in government hands. If this government really believes in the private sector, these should be transferred to the local representatives of the foreign oil companies.
Alfred A. Farrugia
Malta Automobile Club