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Gasoline Prices May Soon Vary
From Pump to Pump
Costa Rican are accustomed to
one price for gasoline no matter
with company pumps the gas or
where. But, that could all
change soon following a proposal
made before the Autoridad
Reguladora de los Servicios
Públicos (Aresep) - the
regulating body of public prices
and services.
The change could affect the way
Costa Ricans buy their gas, as
the price for the product, if
the proposal is adopted, can
change from station to station
at the more than 320 gasoline
stations across the country.
Right now, it does not matter
the station or the company,
either part of a chain or
independent, the price of
gasoline is the same. The
Refinadora Costarricense de
Petroleo (Recope) is the sole
supplier of gasoline products to
all the gasoline stations and
sets the price for the product,
approved by the Aresep.
Gasoline retailers now have an
average gross profit margin of
¢32 colones for each litre they
dispense. The Aresep proposal
will set a maximum price for the
product, but gasoline station
owners can sell for lower,
depending on the competition and
service provided.
The price that Recope sells to
the gasoline stations will
remain the same. The price
difference will be up to the
retailer, cutting into his
profit margin, hopefully made up
by higher sales volume.
A public hearing has been set
for January 23, where citizens
can hear the proposal in detail
and make their own submissions,
which must be made in writing by
January 26 by sending a fax to
290-2010.
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