The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Petroleum dealers said that the lack of a margin increase does not signify a failure in their negotiations with the government.

Vasco Bastian, the Bahamas Petroleum Dealers Association’s (BPDA) vice-president, told Tribune Business they are waiting on a follow-up meeting with the government on their concerns in the industry but “will not go negative” by trying to lay down an ultimatum for the government on the margin increase.

Mr Bastian said: “We believe that at the end of the day both the government and ourselves would be able to come together and have this issue resolved and move forward with resolve.

“We want to continue our talks and move forward and we’re not speaking failure into our existence, we are very optimistic. We are optimistic Bahamian men and women who provide an essential service to the economy and so we are hoping for a positive solution.”

Last month, a number of petroleum dealers stopped selling diesel fuel, claiming it was not profitable for them to sell it at the then high prices without an increase in their margins to make up for the additional costs. But Mr Bastian said diesel is flowing regularly to all of the retailers and the diesel shortage “was not a protest”, but rather they were “just having a dialogue with the government”.

Mr Bastian also said: “Protest sounds like revolutionary talk. We are just professionals trying to have an honest dialogue with the government.”

Continuing this dialogue with the government has been challenging as the BPDA has not met with any government official on their concerns since prior to the Independence Holiday and are now trying to pencil in a date within the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, oil prices have been trending downward. Mr Bastian said: “We continue to be very hopeful and respectful of the concerns of the government and our concerns but we think we can merge the two to for the betterment of the Bahamian people. Now is really a good time because we now see the price of oil is declining and hopefully it continues to decline, there is no better time to do what we suggest and to do what the government suggests for us to move forward, but we all really need to continue to be optimistic.”

The government had already given tax rebates up to $6m to petroleum dealers last year, but petroleum dealers also have on their agenda the government assisting them with relief from their landlords in addition to support in dealing with their wholesalers.