Tax cut brings little relief at pumps in Tyrone

By Michael McGlade and  Emmet McElhatton

DRIVERS in Tyrone will struggle to notice the 5p reduction in fuel tax announced last week by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, a local retailer has admitted.

Despite the cut in duty coming into effect on Wednesday evening, many customers were still facing diesel prices at around £1.70 per litre or above, with petrol around 10p cheaper.

As the cost of living crisis continues to dominate headlines on a daily basis, the proprietor of one filling station in Tyrone said any perception that retailers were profiteering was misplaced.

The businessman – who wanted to remain anonymous – said many of the petrol stations would receive lorry loads of fuel on an almost weekly basis, leaving them open to the fluctuating costs.

“What people need to understand, is how volatile the market is at the moment. From one week to the next we could be seeing a rise of 10p per litre and when it comes to a full lorry of fuel, that equates to thousands of pounds for our business and we have to pass that price on,” he said.

“All the petrol stations have implemented the 5p reduction this week, but they may also have got a fill of fuel at a higher cost, and so the customer will not really see much difference in the price at the pumps.

“This 5p cut by the Tory government is a bit of a flare, in reality it is a 5p cut on a moving target, so it will be difficult for drivers to see any benefit.”

He added, “There are quite a few independently owned petrol stations in Tyrone and we all have to remain profitable and we are also seeing rising costs with electricity, supplies and the rise in the minimum wage. As a business, our first priority is to get customers back in the door.

“Thankfully we have loyal customers who understand what is happening and if they thought we were putting the arm in, then they would go elsewhere.”

As of Thursday evening, a full 24 hours after the 5p cut had come into effect, some stations in Tyrone were charging £1.59 per litre of petrol, while others where charging £1.65. A litre of diesel was £1.70 in one station and £1.75 at another station a few miles away.

Speaking last week, Richard Williams from the Consumer Council, echoed the sentiments of the forecourt owner who spoke to Herald.

“The Consumer Council tracks forecourt prices across Northern Ireland on a weekly basis and we expect that all retailers will have passed on the reduction when we next publish our price checker on March 31, and will raise it as an issue if we have the evidence that it has not,” said Mr Williams.

“However, global wholesale oil prices are very high, and are rising again, so unfortunately, even with the fuel duty reduction, we expect pump prices in Northern Ireland to remain high for some time.”