Petroleum dealers agree to Rs1.64 per litre increase in margin

Reports suggest the government may collect sales figures to ascertain actual profit margin

KARACHI (Web Desk) – Petroleum dealers reached a deal with the federal government under which their margin is increased by Rs1.64 per litre after they had postponed the decision to go for a countrywide strike till Monday.

Last week, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) had given strike call starting from Saturday but the government convinced them to hold talks – a process led by Minister of State Musadik Malik.

The move means the dealers’ margin on petrol and diesel would increase to Rs7.64 per litre against the present level of Rs6.

However, it is far less than their original demand of an Rs5 increase which would have raised their margin to Rs11 per litre.

And on Monday, the petroleum dealers accepted the increase offered by the government albeit hesitantly as the two sides held an hours-long meeting.

According to the agreed formula, their margin would be increased by 41 paisa per litre in each of the next four fortnights instead of a one-time raise.

PPDA Chairman Abdul Sami Khan said after the meeting that they were not satisfied with the solution but had agreed not to go on strike.

Earlier, it was learnt that the government had also decided to collect petroleum dealers’ sales figures to ascertain their actual profit margin.

Last week, the PPDA in a statement had said that interest rates and inflation had hit their businesses hard coupled with a 30 per cent slump in sales due to the Iranian fuel being smuggled into the country.