India's private oil firms say they will cut the price of auto fuels or risk being priced out.
Private oil major Shell has already reduced the price of auto fuels bringing them on par with prices of fuels sold by state-run oil companies. Shell runs 17 retail outlets in the country.
"We have cut the retail prices of transportation fuels when the government reduced the fuel prices on Feb. 15," said Deepak Mukerjee, a spokesman for Shell.
Reliance Industries Ltd. said it was also planning to reduce the cost of petrol and diesel.
"A cut in the prices of auto fuels would be done. It could be announced some time next week," said an RIL spokesman.
The company cut the prices of auto fuels last October last year by 44 cents on petrol and 22 cents on diesel.
"The private oil companies will have to align their retail selling prices with the state-run companies if they want stay in competition," a Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry official said.
Government-controlled oil companies own 95 percent of the total retail outlets in the country and the consumer can always shun the private players if rates are too high.
Most Indian consumers are unwilling to pay more even if private players provide better services, The Financial Express newspaper reported Friday.
source news : upi.com
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