Huge margins between fuel prices

Mel Cooke, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Petroleum Company of Jamaica's (PCJ) ex-refinery price announcements end with the standard advisory that retailers will add their respective margins to the prices that have been announced. However, while it is naturally expected that the further fuel has to be hauled to a service station, the more it will cost at the pump, the retailers' prices seem to make for huge margins of difference between final prices, even in the Corporate Area where service stations are relatively close.

So when The Sunday Gleaner checked prices for fuel last Friday, there was less than a dollar spread between prices at the Texaco service station at the foot of Jacks Hill on Barbican Road, St Andrew, and the Texaco outlets in the hills of Trelawny at Albert Town and the plains of St Elizabeth at Pedro Cross.

On Barbican Road, E10 87 was $102.20 per litre, in between the prices at Albert Town ($101.90) and Pedro Cross ($103.70). E10 90 was $104.50 in Barbican, 40 cents less than in Pedro Cross and 80 cents more than it cost in Albert Town. Albert Town's Texaco outlet had the lowest diesel price at $101.30 per litre, Barbican was next lowest at $102.50 and the price was $103.00 per litre in Pedro Cross.

Across the Corporate Area, there were dollars of difference between various stations. At the Total station on Marcus Garvey Drive, not very far from the refinery, E10 87 was $96.30 per litre and E10 90 $97.30. However, on the same corridor into downtown Kingtson, the Shell service station at Water Lane was selling E10 87 for $94.71 and E10 90 for $98.89.

Prices were fairly consistent along Red Hills Road and on to Constant Spring Road into Half-Way Tree, with three stations having E10 87 for $94.50 per litre and E10 90 within a range of 20 cents. Along Constant Spring Road into Half-Way Tree, the Total and Texaco outlets both sold 87 for $94.90 per litre and 90 for $102.10 and $102.90, respectively. In Half-Way Tree, the Epping outlet also sold E10 87 for $94.90. However, the huge disparity was in the diesel prices, where the Texaco outlet posted a price of $99.90 per litre, just over $6 higher than the Total price of $93.80.

Disparity

In and below Cross Roads, gas prices were appreciably lower, but again there was a huge difference between diesel prices, even at stations very close to each other. While the Texaco and Total service stations along Half-Way Tree Road, near to Cross Roads were close, one litre 87 at $92.40 and $92.19, respectively, there was a gulf between the E10 90 prices - Texaco posted $101.90 and Total $95.0. The gap on diesel was even greater, at $100.90 and $92.83 per litre, respectively.

Downtown Kingston is famed for relatively low prices on goods, and gas is no different. At the Petcom and Unipet service stations on Slipe Road, E10 87 cost $92.17 per litre and the stations were within 50 cents of each other on E10 90 and diesel prices.

The downward trend continued at Heroes Circle where prices were mere cents above the Slipe Road figures.

Photos by Gladstone Taylor/Photographer