Extremadura gas stations begin to have a lack of supply due to the transporters’ strike

“We no longer have diesel and we only have 700 liters of 95 gasoline left.” It is told by one of the workers at the station located at kilometer 39 of the highway from Cáceres to Badajoz. “We are waiting for the convoy to arrive with the supply, but still nothing,” he said this morning, almost unable to supply the vehicles that stop at that gas station located near the town of Puebla de Obando.

What is happening there is similar to what is happening in other stations in this community that are already being affected by the carriers’ strike. It is the eighth day of strike and the gas stations do not stop trying to find solutions to have supply for their customers.

“There are already several stations that have run out of fuel,” emphasizes Fernando Mena, president of the Association of Service Stations of Extremadura (Aresex), a group made up of 80 small and medium-sized companies that have gas stations flagged by a brand.

In addition to Puebla de Obando, “there is another in Torre de Santa María that no longer has diesel plus. Right now that is the information that has reached me, but surely there are more that are already having problems, “says Mena. In fact, in others located in urban areas, more of the same is also happening, such as in the one located on Avenida del Diario HOY in Badajoz, where customers already see signs of lack of fuel at the pumps.

According to the president of Aresex, the Civil Guard has offered to escort the tanker convoys with the aim that the supply reaches the service stations. «They told us that at ten in the morning the truck from Mérida left; Let’s hope it arrives, “they commented from the Puebla de Obando gas station.

Sales drop

Everything indicates that the problems will continue while waiting for the negotiations between carriers and the central government to take place. “If the strike continues, it will affect us much more,” says Mena, who considers that the supply problems are not so serious because sales have fallen in recent days and they had reserves.

“Very little is being sold and that is what is causing us to still have fuel in most service stations. It is no longer just carriers, but also vans and individuals, which many charged last week for fear of a price increase and that is noticeable in sales, “says Mena, who refers to a drop in sales of between 30% and 40%.

To this we must add other problems such as the shortage of butane cylinders in some stations. Likewise, the delivery trucks that are responsible for carrying fuel for heating on farms or livestock and agriculture vehicles are not working, as specified by Aserex.

“Carriers have very reasonable demands and all we want is for it to be resolved. We need prices to drop because we are small family businesses that need a lot of sales, since diesel margins are small and right now there is no volume”, concludes Fernando Mena.