Balearic drivers are still paying the most for petrol in Spain

Balearic vehicle owners are still paying over the odds for fuel, despite the summer of discontent over runaway fuel prices. Over the past two years, in the Balearics, the cost of unleaded petrol, “super” and diesel has been above the national average and while the difference in prices between the three fuel types has narrowed considerably over the past 24 months, Balearic drivers are still paying 136'5 pesetas for a litre of unleaded compared to 136'3 on the mainland and the difference in prices is the same for both “super” and diesel. Last year the most expensive unleaded was in the Balearics, similar to the situation in 1999. Over the past few months, Spain's leading fuel distributers have been gradually reducing the price of fuel, cutting a peseta here and a peseta there of the price per litre, but the Balearics is still the most expensive region. Runaway fuel prices reached a head over the summer when truckers, farmers and fishermen blockaded Majorca's main fuel depots, draining the island dry of petrol. The Balearic government is still toying with the idea of setting up a Balearic distribution co-operative, involving the transport, agricultural and fishing sectors, with the aim of being able to reduce the price of fuel and break the distribution monopoly. However, the idea is still in the planning stage and since the end of the fuel protests in Majorca, the distribution co-operative has not been mentioned by the government.