Filenews 10 November 2021 - by Angelos Nikolaou
Profiteering phenomena are observed with the retail sale of 10 kg LPG ranging from €12 to €15.50. The huge fluctuation of €3.50 per bottle with the return of the empty cylinder, has alarmed the Ministry of Commerce, which is expected to emphasize in the coming days, after the completion of the price observatory that is in progress.
The ministry that decided to monitor the market very closely since last September is conducting a monthly survey of the market of 168 basic consumer goods. There are significant exclusions between the products at the different points of sale, however, the competition that is observed has not led the government to take additional measures for the time being, such as the publication by name of the companies and products they have, so that the consumer has a complete picture.
For the first time in October, the sale price of LPG was included in the observatory, where there is an increase since last June based on the Consumer Price Index of the Statistical Service by 27%.
Essentially what the Consumer Protection Service has noticed is that there is a large variation in prices from one point of sale to another. Specifically, the average selling price of LPG as recorded in October was €13.13, with the cheapest being around €11.80 and the most expensive at €14.50. The first recordings made in recent days for the November Observatory show an increase in the maximum price by €1 per cylinder, at specific points of sale in western Nicosia. Therefore, the maximum price reached €15.50.
The observatory is expected to be completed in order to identify the new prices that will be formed in the market. It is noted that the Service has data for each point of sale nationwide by name, which it does not currently publish. However, consumers should be particularly careful since there are appreciable differences in the prices of a 10 kg LPG cylinder between the different points of sale. The difference is 23% between the minimum and maximum values in the month of October. Particularly careful should be the consumers who use LPG for heating since they will have to do important market research in order to find the lowest price, so as not to fall victim to profiteering.
Apart from the price of LPG, trends for increases as demonstrated by comparing the observatories of September – October are found in bread, water, flour, cheeses, cold cuts, cereals, canned, frozen, vegetables, fish and oil. A better picture will emerge with the completion of the observatory currently underway.
