Angelos Nikolaou
Profiteering phenomena are observed with the retail sale of LPG of 10 kilos 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.
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The ministry, which decided to monitor the market very closely since last September, conducts a monthly market survey of 168 basic consumer goods. Significant exclusions are found between the products at the various points of sale, however, the competition observed has not led the government to take additional measures at the moment, such as publishing the names of the companies and the 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 from 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 lot of 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 ranging at € 11.80 and the most expensive at € 14.50. The first recordings made in the last 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 determine the new prices that will be formed in the market. It is noted that the Service has data for each point of sale in Cyprus, which it does not disclose at the moment. However, consumers must be especially careful as there are noticeable differences in the prices of a 10 kg LPG bottle between the various points of sale. The difference is 23% between the minimum and maximum price in October. Consumers who use LPG for heating should be especially careful as they will have to do important market research in order to find the lowest price, so as not to fall prey to scandal.
In addition to the price of LPG, there are trends for increases as compared to the September-October observatories in bread, water, flour, cheese, cold cuts, cereals, canned food, frozen vegetables, fish and oil. A better picture will emerge with the completion of the ongoing observatory.
