Retailers don’t expect higher prices after fuel price deregulation
Petrol prices will be up by 42 fils to Dh2.14 per litre in August
Dubai: Some retailers in the UAE have said that they will not increase prices of their products even as they expect higher logistics costs in the coming weeks.
The government announced yesterday that petrol prices will be up by 42 fils to Dh2.14 per litre, while diesel prices will drop from Dh2.90 to Dh2.05 per litre for the month of August.
Ashish Panjabi, COO at consumer electronics retailer Jacky’s, said he expects the company’s logistics costs to “marginally” increase in August.
“It could be anywhere between 25 fils and Dh1 per unit,” he said. Even so, he does not expect higher logistics costs to impact prices of the company’s products.
Similarly, Vinod Talreja, chief executive of Babyshop, does not expect the slight increase in logistics costs to boost selling prices in the coming weeks.
However, Diana Jarmalaite, research analyst at consultancy Euromonitor International, expects product prices to increase.
“In order to manage the fuel costs, businesses are expected to revise the fuel component in the final price, therefore it will inflate fuel budgets for all businesses and will increase price tags for consumers. Euromonitor International expects the fuel price would affect the consumer within upcoming couple of months depending on the goods and services,” she said.
“The first line revision will come for delivery charges, or everything related to logistics and shipments, following the rest of goods and services,” she added.
