Hungary fuel price cap ruined 200 petrol stations for good - Bujdos

Eszter Bujdos said the following in the interview:

The petrol station operators believe that Thursday's provision was conceived as if it was written for a handful of actors, as maybe one fifth of the service stations have high-pressure pumps. A garbage truck will not go out on the motorway to refuel, which has already led to garbage collection disruptions in several places. The classification of buses, heavy duty vehicles and many other types of vehicles not delineated in last Thursday's decree is also unclear. While the regulation requires the separation of normal and high-pressure fuel pumps, the vast majority of pumps are connected to a single tank. It is also not known who and how can fill into a can.

In uncertain cases they (the service stations) are not selling any fuel now and are turning buyers away instead. They do not risk the occasional fine of HUF 6 to 15 million.

The long weekend and the temporary ban for truck traffic have given some breathing space to the supply system, especially on the main transport routes, but there are still reports of delays. In some cases, Mol does not even give a date for expected deliveries.

Today, almost all of the 2,000 domestic pumps have some kind of restriction in place.

Contrary to Mol's expectations, importers who made 80-150 forints per litre on foreign sales were not lured back by the HUF 20 excise tax cut.

Mol is apparently pushing hard, but it could take several weeks to sort out the current problems, while there are rumours of a shortage of tankers and workers.

The domestic refinery certainly weighs deliveries by importance, which Bujdos says is not where small rural pumps come first. This could be particularly detrimental to farmers, who, moreover, have to be served at the official price of HUF 480.

Meanwhile, Slovenia has banned diesel export, and the refineries at Százhalombatta, Bratislava and Schwechat are now or will soon be shut down for routine spring maintenance. According to Austrian energy group OMV, the low water level on the Danube means that the usual quantities of fuel will not arrive.

It was revealed on Thursday that the ministry has already sent Mol to take over the operation of some pumps that were shut down due to stock shortages. Dozens of petrol stations have started renovation work. In the second half of last week, the number of stations without fuel due to supply disruptions rose to half a thousand - a quarter of all domestic stations. This has now eased somewhat, but there are still reports of delays of several days or even weeks.

According to Bujdos, the price freeze has ruined around one tenth of the domestic filling stations, around 200 units.

On Thursday, the Hungarian Road Haulage Association (MKFE) and the National Association of Private Transport Operators (NiT Hungary) requested Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a joint letter that the protection of Hungarian families and businesses should be extended without delay to road passenger and freight transport companies, which employ around 130,000 workers. Without it, not only the livelihoods of the families who depend on them will be at risk, but the entire supply chain could face serious disruption, the letter said.

According to an announcement made on 10 March, hauliers can only fill up at market prices and in limited quantities, which creates a serious crisis situation for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with little financial reserves. They would have to implement a minimum 20% increase in their prices overnight, while it is not clear at the moment what price they will actually pay for fuel on a daily basis, they added.

Cover photo: Ákos Stiller/Bloomberg via Getty Images