Margins of 20 cents per liter between the price of gasoline at the refinery and at the pump are observed in certain regions of Quebec at the moment, a situation denounced by CAA-Quebec. The organization criticizes retailers for delaying relaying to motorists the significant declines in oil indicators in recent days.
This situation concerns about ten regions in the province, including Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Centre-du-Québec and Mauricie, where the retail margin is more than 23 cents per litre. and the pump price of more than 170 cents per litre.
In the lead is the Côte-Nord where the price per liter of gas at the pump averages 173.4 cents, or 26.8 cents per liter more than at the refinery according to the figures listed on the platform. CAA-Quebec Fuel Info.
Meanwhile, in Montreal, where the cost of acquisition for retailers is one of the highest in the province due to the tax dedicated to public transit, motorists can fill up for 155.9 cents a liter.
A “hard to understand gap”
A situation that is difficult to explain the director of public affairs at CAA-Quebec, Nicolas Ryan. “It’s the gap between the different cities that is hard to understand,” he says, adding that he receives many calls and emails from members frustrated by this situation.
“The vision we have, that our members report to us, is that when the indicators [pétroliers] are on the rise [les détaillants] are very quick to adjust their prices, but when they are down, it always takes longer,” he explains.
If CAA-Quebec has already observed in the past retail margins exceeding 20 cents/litre, this situation did not last more than 24 hours. However, in this case, the significant margins have lasted for 48 hours and even more in certain regions.
The industry needs to explain to motorists what justifies such retail margins and such discrepancies between pump prices in different regions, says Nicolas Ryan.
High volatility
Reached Wednesday evening, the CEO of the Association of Quebec Energy Distributors, Sonia Marcotte, said she was made aware of the significant retail margins in certain regions of Quebec.
The one whose association represents some 2,300 points of service in the province expects to see the price of gasoline at the pump drop there shortly. The high price volatility at the refinery, where retailers get their supplies, could be the cause, she said.
“Twenty years ago, we didn’t see that, the price at the refinery hardly moved every week whereas now it varies every day, even sometimes several times a day”, she underlines.
Among the hypotheses mentioned by Sonia Marcotte to explain this disparity between Montreal and certain regions, she cites the greater “turnover” of stocks in the metropolis and the “regional dynamics” of competition between service stations.
“I don’t know the strategy of each of the retailers and they are free to do what they want, to determine [leur] price according to the competition around. Eventually it will subside, ”she concludes.