KARACHI: Fuel pump operators have deferred the countrywide closure till Monday after Petr­ole­um Minister Musadik Malik promised a reasonable increase in dealers’ margins.

Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) chairman Abdul Sami Khan announced that the association was calling off the July 22 strike after securing an assurance of due increase from the petroleum minister during a meeting on Friday evening.

The association chairman said the petroleum minister agreed that there should be an upward revision in the margin.

An increase in the margin will be ascertained based on actual data acceptable to all stakeholders, the PPDA chief said, adding that the revised margin would be anno­unced in the next 48 hours.

Mr Sami recalled that it was decided in 1999 that dealers would get a 5 per cent margin, but the government fixed Rs6 per litre on oil products which comes to 2.40pc on which the dealers are not satisfied. The government said it would later consider any revision.

In the meantime, the operating cost of pumps has soared due to rising power tariffs, labour and other utilities, while the profit margin of small outlets has become negligible.

Mr Sami said another concern of dealers is the influx of smuggled Iranian diesel and petrol which has caused a 30pc drop in sales.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2023