asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he plans to retain price control over the price of oil products in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
95.
Written Answers. - Oil Products Price Control.
11.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the implications of the interim report by the Fair Trade Commission on petrol prices; the evidence his Department gave to the Commission in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take written Question No. 95 and oral Question No. 11 together.
The interim report of the Fair Trade Commission following their inquiry into the supply and distribution of motor fuels recommended changes in the formula used for calculating the prices of petrol and autodiesel. The commission recommended that the basic product price used should be mid-Platts FOB instead of the mean of the Platts CIF for North West Europe, that an allowance for freight from the United Kingdom should be included and that a new conversion rate from tonnes to litres should be used to take account of the reduction of lead in petrol. I accepted these recommendations and they were implemented early in September last as part of the monthly price review.
The commission were unable to agree on the need for a premium for small purchases nor could they agree on the increases needed in wholesalers' and retailers' margins. In these circumstances I deferred a decision on these matters pending further study and the final report of the commission which is expected to make far-reaching recommendations to create greater price competition and end price control. Pending consideration of this final report I cannot indicate whether price control on petrol and autodiesel will be retained.
The only evidence supplied by my Department to the inquiry was information on the control formula. This is set out in paragraph 2.6 and Table 1 of the report, which is available in the Library.