The price of petrol crossed ₹100 in Dakshina Kannada district on Friday. Fuel used to be cheaper in the coastal district as compared to other places in Karnataka by a rupee or a few paise as Dakshina Kannada hosts the the only refinery in the State: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd.
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Petrol was sold at ₹100.18 at Rajesh Services, a dealer of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., in Sullia, about 70 km from Mangaluru. It was sold at ₹99.5 at Puttur, about 40 km from Mangaluru and ₹99.43 in Mangaluru. Petrol was sold at ₹99.69 a litre in Byndoor in Udupi district, bordering Uttara Kannada district, and ₹101.99 in Karwar, the headquarters of Uttara Kannada district.
A year ago, petrol was sold at ₹73.41 in Mangaluru on June 7 and for ₹82.67 on December 7. The price rose to ₹95.2 on May 19 this year. Within a month, the price has gone up by nearly ₹5 per litre.
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The price of diesel has crossed ₹90 per litre, which has had an impact on the prices of essential commodities. But it is not just consumers who have been affected, claim petroleum dealers.
The major impact is on the working capital as dealers have to pay in advance for the fuel being supplied. The amount has increased from about ₹8 lakh a year to over ₹12 lakh for average dealers, said Vishwas Shenoy, Vice President of Karnataka Federation of Petroleum Dealers’ Associations, from Puttur. At the same time, there was minimal or no increase in the margins or earnings of dealers, he claimed.
Dealers have seen a steep reduction in earnings following a drastic fall in business, said Gopal Shetty, manager at Bejai Service Station, an IOC dealer. “We are unable to do even 25% of the regular business whereas all the fixed expenditure have remained unchanged,” he said.