Fuel prices falling due to Eni's price cap, Ip and Q8, but the 'white pumps' report market distortion

Fuel prices fall further, due to the price cap also announced by Q8, after Eni and Ip. But the discounted prices of the three big companies remain lower than those of the small operators, the "white pumps".

These denounce the ceiling decided by the giants as a distortion of the market, and Minister Pichetto appeals to the sense of responsibility of fuel producers. However, the price cap does not apply to diesel fuel for fishing boats, and in Porto Empedocle the fishermen announce that they will not go to sea tomorrow.

According to the Mimit fuel price observatory, the average price in 'self-service' mode along the national road network is 2.111 euros per liter for petrol and 2.316 for diesel. On Tuesday they were at 2.126 and 2.335 euros respectively.

But the Mimit figure is an average between the discounted prices of Eni, Ip and Q8, large operators who are also producers and suppliers of fuel, and the higher prices of the "white pumps". Small operators buy petrol and diesel from the same giants who have placed the price cap, and now suffer from their competition on price. Eni, Ip and Q8 together have 55% of the Italian market. If they lower their prices, they sell more. However, on the wholesale market, product availability is reduced, and prices for small operators rise, canceling out their profit margins.

"There must also be some sense of responsibility on the part of the chain managers, starting from the producers themselves", commented the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin "The fuel price cap has been adopted for years in Europe, decided by the state - explains the petrol station union Fegica -. It exists in Belgium and Luxembourg, now the German government has also announced it. But if it is put in place by a private operator, which is also the market leader, it is It is inevitable that imbalances will be created." Fegica and Faib-Confesercenti presented a proposal on a public price cap in the Senate. "Only in this way could we have fair measures", they comment.

The discount for the three groups, however, only applies to public distributors, not to the network that supplies road haulage, agriculture and fishing companies. Confcooperative Agroalimentare e Pesca reports that diesel fuel for fishing vessels has increased by up to 200% since the beginning of the war in Iran. In Porto Empedocle, in the Agrigento area, the fishermen announce that they will not go to sea tomorrow: "Instead of getting into debt, it is better to stay still". In Basilicata, the Municipality of Laurenzana (Potenza) has established a 'municipal fuel bonus', modulated based on the income range, with a total allocation of 150 thousand euros.