Fuel prices in Cyprus have broken records again, with consumers facing a continuing wave of price rises.
Diesel is now above €2 a litre, surpassing the previous all-time high of €1.989 set in July 2022.
The president of the Petrol Station Owners’ Association told local TV that station owners have already been notified of further increases from Monday: 2 cents on 95-octane petrol, 3 cents on diesel and 5 cents on heating oil. It would be the third rise in the same week.
Association spokesman Christodoulos Christodoulou said VAT would need to be reduced if the government chose to act. “We expect the issue to come before the cabinet on the 30th of the month, as announced by the finance minister,” he told Antenna, a local channel.
Consumers Association president Marios Drousiotis said that since March 1, petrol has risen by 41 cents a litre, diesel by 59 cents and heating oil by 66 cents.
“These increases are too big for consumers to bear, at least those on low and middle incomes,” he said.
The association is calling for state intervention, either through a cut in VAT or a reduction in the special consumption tax on fuel.
Drousiotis said that as a result of the increases since March 1, the state is collecting an additional 7.75 cents in VAT per litre of 95-octane petrol, 11.2 cents on diesel and 12.6 cents on heating oil. The association wants the extra revenue returned to consumers.
Meanwhile, opposition AKEL has called for emergency measures to support low and middle-income households. Party politburo member and MP Giorgos Koukoumas said AKEL is proposing and demanding emergency, targeted support for those groups against the record fuel increases, for as long as the situation continues.
