Argentine fuel retailers anticipate 2015 will be a tough year

Argentine fuel retailers are bracing for a complicated year in 2015 in a context of weaker prices and lower sales, the head of the country’s biggest association of fuel retailers recently said.

“I believe that the decrease in sales and declines in crude oil prices make us anticipate a complex year,” said Oscar Diaz, president of the Confederation for Commerce of Hydrocarbons of the Republic of Argentina, according to comments recently posted in the association website.

However, he added that is a positive development that all members of the organization have been able to come up with a joint set of proposals that will be evaluated this year by legislators to determine if they can become law.

He said that talks with oil companies have “without a doubt made much advance”.

The association has said in the past that it wants less participation of oil companies in the fuel retail industry as part of the changes in legislation that it has proposed.

The association wants oil refining companies to limit their participation in the fuel retail market to 15-20% which will be possible if there are changes in legislation. Officials of CECHA, as the organization is known, have also said that they want to limit the influence of oil companies on how retail prices are set.

He said that salary discussions will also be an important issue during this year and that it will be important to seek “equilibrium” between fuel station owners capacity to sustain salary payments and workers demands.

There are an estimated 3,900 fuel stations in Argentina and each has on average about 15 employees, representatives of the association have told PetrolPlaza in the past.