With the latest OPEC decision, prices at Croatia’s fuel stations will increase.
Starting from Tuesday, drivers at fuel stations will have to pay on average 7 lipa more for a litre of fuel. While the increase is not substantial for ordinary drivers, professional truckers are afraid that their profit margins might disappear, reports dnevnik.hr on December 5, 2016.
The new prices of fuel mean than drivers will have to pay about 3.30 kuna more for an average car with a tank which takes in about 50 litres. However, truckers will have to pay much more. With about 70 kuna per tank, they might take a substantial financial hit. “We simply cannot increase our prices and we are again forced to accept financial situation which is becoming worse and worse”, said Goran Jozing, a professional trucker.
They might also face another problem – a possible increase in toll rates for Croatian Motorways. “That also affects the cost of our transportation services, just like the increase in fuel prices. When you put all that together, it creates a major problem”, said Ivica Pajdaković, another trucker.
Truckers’ association has already warned that many of their members have started to look for business opportunities outside of Croatia. “Our members have already started registering their trailers in Slovenia, where it costs just 79 euros, compared to Croatia where it costs as much as 600 euros, Many have also established their companies abroad in order to be able to get refunds for a part of excise duties”, said Dragutin Kranjčec, from the Association of Croatian Road Truckers.
For each litre of fuel, the state takes about 60 percent of retail price. The latest increase of the price is a consequence of a recent decision by OPEC, which decided to cut oil production, while led to an increase in prices on international market. However, experts do not expect a drastic price hike.
“The situation on out local market is such that each increase in prices is presented as a significant event, while each decline in prices is soon forgotten”, said Igor Dekanić from the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering. Still, no one expects prices at petrol stations to cross 10 kuna per litre, as they did two years ago.
