A new company supplying bottled gas in İskele and Karpaz, is charging a ‘service fee’ on each bottle because of the distance from Nicosia, Yeniduzen reported.
Following which, shops have stopped buying bottles because of reduced profit margins, leaving locals to fend for themselves.
The new supplier began charging an extra 15 TL per bottle as a service fee, citing the region’s distance. Because their profit margins dropped to just 1%, local shop owners decided to stop buying gas.
Speaking on behalf of the shops to Yeniduzen Burçin Öncel, owner of Öncel Market, explained that the supplier was charging 15 TL per bottle for the service due to the distance saying that he was opposed to this situation.
Öncel highlighted that the people in the area were being left in a difficult position and said the situation couldn’t continue like this.
He said, “They’re asking for a 15 TL service fee per bottle”. Öncel said the new supplier raised the price of bottled gas from 450 TL to 465 TL and was now charging an additional 15 TL per bottle for the service because of the distance, adding, “We, as shop owners, are against this”.
He pointed out that the gas reaches Kalecik but is then taken to Nicosia for filling, which adds extra costs.
Öncel stressed that the current situation is unsustainable, predicting that gas prices would rise further soon, leading to chaos.
“With the old company, we were selling gas with a 20 TL profit margin. But now the new company is giving us gas at 465 TL, leaving us with only a 5 TL margin. On top of that, they’re saying, ‘Your area is far away, so I have to charge 15 TL per bottle as a service fee.’ We’re strongly against this”, the shopkeeper said.