Fuel stations in South Africa are under severe financial pressure as fuel prices surge, costs rise, and margins remain tightly regulated. This is the feedback from the South African Petroleum Retailers Association (SAPRA), which represents many service stations across the country.
Speaking in an interview with Kaya Biz, SAPRA national vice-chair Lebo Ramolahloane said many South Africans incorrectly assume that fuel retailers are making huge profits from rising petrol and diesel prices. However, in reality, he stressed that many service stations across South Africa are struggling to remain viable.
The diesel price increase has serious implications for the wider economy because it is vital to operations that deliver food, produce crops, and maintain logistics networks that keep businesses running.
However, Ramolahloane said the increases are also creating major strain for service stations themselves, especially because retailers operate on fixed, regulated margins. “To be honest, that’s the misconception that everybody makes in terms of retailers making money or service station owners making money,” he said.
He explained that before the latest fuel price shocks, filling a station’s tanks cost around R1 million. However, that figure has now climbed to between R2 million and R2.5 million. “Practically overnight, we had to find money in order to fill up our tanks because the margins stay the same and it’s regulated,” he said.
Ramolahloane said fuel retailers currently operate on margins of roughly R3.15 per litre, despite diesel prices now exceeding R30 per litre in some cases. “All that turnover is just excessive risk on our side from the banking aspect of it as well,” he said.
Full story Petrol stations in South Africa are in deep trouble – BusinessTech
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