Worry about diesel, not petrol: MyNews24: Letters: News24

MyNews24's best photos
Send us your best photos and we'll publish them on News24. Click here to find out more.

Answer this!
Why do only certain News24 Users get their stories published? Click here to find out.

Search News24

News

MyNews24 : Letters

Special Reports

Opinion

Time Out

Mind Games

Cartoons

Services

Newsletters

Weather

Cape Town:
15-19°C

Durban:
18-26°C

Johannesburg:
7-22°C

Weather Page

Traffic

All regions

Indicators

Rand/$	7.5100
Rand/£	14.6900
Rand/€	11.6700
Gold/oz	$880.85
Gold Mining	2491.64 +0.00%
All-share index	32647.43 +0.00%

Partners

Afrikaans




English

LETTER
Worry about diesel, not petrol
01/04/2008 10:30 - (SA)

The diesel price will increase by R1.30c a litre on Wednesday.

Source: AA

Petrol Price Q&A

Dear Editor,

It is interesting how people always concentrate on the petrol price hike, and do not pay much attention to the diesel price hikes. The petrol price is kept in check, because consumers largely use petrol to commute to work. The consumers stay happy, and the taxi owners are also not up in arms.

Wake-up people! How stupid do the price makers think we are? The last two diesel hikes included an increase in excess of 70c per litre and the current one will be around 130c per litre.

So by keeping the petrol price increases low in comparison with the diesel the consumers are accepting it, because the price which affects them directly looks to be alright compared to the diesel price hike. I heard one person saying: "At least the diesel price won't affect me, good luck to the suckers who went and bought a diesel car, they are now getting punished for driving a car with low consumption."

"Ignorance is bliss." is the thought that comes to mind. What do people like this think the economy of this country runs on, petrol? I think not. Where do the basic produce come from, farms, and what do farms use, lots and lots of diesel. I am surprised that the agriculture sector has not done anything about this, or are this a way of still punishing the "boere" for apartheid?

Everything these days get transported by truck, hence it gets delivered by diesel. So everything imaginable will go up in price. Take normal bread for instance. The grain needs to be planted and harvested; this will cost a lot more now that the diesel price goes up. Then the grain needs to be transported to a mill, also costing more. The grounded flour needs to be transported to a baker, more cost due to diesel price. And so the process goes on and on...

The media is not innocent here either. When the media report on the planned increases the emphases is placed and the petrol price, and the diesel price is only mentioned in passing.

In other words when the petrol price goes up the direct consumer gets affected, but when the diesel goes up, all consumers of all goods get affected.

Hennie DJ

Send a letter to the editor...

...more letters

Disclaimer: News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.

Yahoo

Digg

News24 on facebook profile


	What a nightmare 01/04/2008 10:49 As motorists we are facing an ackward situtation, one cars are over priced in South Africa, two, petrol prices are souring every month. - Thokozani

	Diesel 01/04/2008 10:49 Hennie, finally someone brought this issue up, thank you. We drive a diesel vehicle and the price hike is affecting us directly. Also need to mention that apparently the diesel price is hiked, due to in a great part Eskom who uses diesel to run their generators. Demand fuels the increase in diesel. - Nyx

	Finally 01/04/2008 10:51 Finally somebody smelled the roses! 100% correct, our company supplies input finance to farmers for maize, wheat and sunflower. The average increase in input cost for the coming season is between 35% and 50% - wait for food prices in the new year!! A shocker is coming up! - Deon

	Gatvol 01/04/2008 10:53 Are people even suprised anymore, I mean honestly South Africans get shafted up the rear-end so frequently by just about every company and service around, especially if government has a finger in the pie, or a cousin they can give the work (read - money) to. Prices of fuel however are largely not under our control. We simply dont have the right people for the job, governtment need to pull finger and get things done the right way. - Gatvol

	well put 01/04/2008 10:54 but psychologically I still prefer a higher diesel price - turbo_superboss

	Too right! 01/04/2008 10:59 Hmmm. Someone from the trucking industry lurking in the halls of news24?? Absolutely right. Not much moves in this country with out being trucked at least once in its journey - and the diesel price going up is going to have a serious impact on the inflation numbers we are trying so hard to keep down! Can't be fixed. We can however teach the truck drivers how to use the lock bolts provided, so that their containers don't "fall off" in traffic and crush the other road users... (accident N1 Cape) - Sarah

	our economy is crumbling 01/04/2008 11:01 Surely by now it must be more economical to produce bio diesel. All my vehicles run on diesel and I will pay a R100 more per tank with this new hike in place. To top it all the electricity is going up with 53% and then they want to increase the property tax as well. My annual increase stays half of what inflation is which means that I have to jump jobs if I want an increase in salary. Australia and such are not the expensive countries anymore. We are! My brother living in Aus laughs at me when he hears that we pay up to R76 per kilo for lamb. In comparison, with my salary I can fill up my pickup 25 times in SA but if I were to work in Aus in my profession I would be able to fill up my pickup a100 times with my salary. I think I earn a decent salary and if all this is affecting me so much then what about the guy earning R3000 per month. How will he survive? People are getting fed up. To top it all the new Toyota taxis are all running on diesel with the same engines as the 3L Toyota pickups. Imagine how this will affect commuters. Throw in the everyday crime and corruption and SA ends up as very large stick of dynamite just waiting for a match. - Carel

	petrol 01/04/2008 11:02 people talk about petrol that is going up. but nothing about likor o cigarettes. - marian van der walt

	Guilty 01/04/2008 11:04 Finally.... someone has said something. And yes! the media (including News24 and Finance24) are guilty of reporting only on the petrol price! Come on guys, lets try a little responsible reporting! - Greg

	Hikes! 01/04/2008 11:06 I do understand u guys, but why do u guys keep on trying to isolate SA from the rest of the world when it comes to Fuel Prices. fuels prices r high yes, but it's not entirely controlled by the Gov, but oil Price across the world.(OPEC) N this Argument that is this still a way of punishing the Boer for aparthied is Sommer Kak boet! R u saying there's a price for darkies n a price for Boertjies?? How stupid can u get?? U just nullified u'r whole posting with that kak!!Run u'r car on gas frm u'r ass - zakes

	scooters 01/04/2008 11:06 Thats why I am going to buy me a scooter instead of a car...started my first job after studying for four years and ain't going to throw it into the drain by buying a car and wasting petrol....:-) - ani

	Diesel price 01/04/2008 11:09 I bought a diesel for 2 reasons. First of all to save money. Although the car was more expensive than a petrol, I do high milage (5000 km/month) and therefore save on fuel cost. The second reason trying to be a bit more "greener". I used to work for a multi national corporation with a policy that you can drive what you like, as long as it is diesel. - Salmon Neethling

	Diesel price 01/04/2008 11:09 As I have it, diesel is also cheaper to manufacture due to it being produced earlier in the refining process. The bottomline of the price therefore is not only the difference between the price of petrol and diesel but additional difference due to a reduced bottomline cost! We are getting nailed and we sit still and thank everyone politely!!! - LB K

	Again 01/04/2008 11:10 Poor man in the street is going K@$ off again,but who cares when your salary is sky high and you live in the lap of luxury?. - increase

	end of the road!!!! 01/04/2008 11:10 I am convinced people know the consequences of a higher diesel price. Emphasis is spent on petrol because majority of the people use petrol instead of diesel. Yes you are correct this is going to affect us in every possible way; even the cost of running generators. I wonder what % of TAXIS operates with diesel. This hike is definitely out of range. The same old excuse (?weaker rand?) I wonder what % govt. pockets????? - navs

	All about the U.S. $ 01/04/2008 11:11 Oil is baught in US$. As the rand continues to plummet against the $, the price of fuel will rise. If we had a government that was ACTUALLY concerned about this we would not have a problem. There is no incentive for the government to start performing, as ministers all receive fuel subsidies anyway! - Juan

	Cut fuel taxes 01/04/2008 11:12 Production is the engine of an economy. SA need to produce more and consume less. Trevor Manual should have aggressively cut the tax on fuel in particular diesel to stimulate economic growth. Our manufactures have to compete against the likes of China who can produce good at very low costs. We need to reduce the tax on fuel and maintain a weak currency to allow our manufactures to complete in the global arena. - KGP

	guess what 01/04/2008 11:15 Guess what South Africa produces almost half of it's own fuel needs through SASOL.A country that produces almost half of it's own fuel still sees it's consumers fuel price linked to the international crude oil price!SASOL effectively bought Government off the windfall taxes plan with a sweet empowerment deal.Regulated corruption if you ask me, at the expense of all consumers.SASOL should sell at much lower prices (and still make a profit!). - kwk

	100% correct 01/04/2008 11:16 You are 100% correct. I am not suprised anymore by this price hikes. Someone is getting his/her lunch from this.Just increase it to R10 a litre and leave it there for the next 3 years. - sdlala

	lol 01/04/2008 11:18 theres no point in owning a diesel car now anyways. then again a diesel car is not a real car IMO. diesel is not regulated so expect to see a diesel price at least R1.00 more than petrol at most stations. - JJM

	shocking indeed 01/04/2008 11:21 yip diesel price is shocking, and the repurcussions are going to be disatrous, very short sighted from the dme i must say. anyway still think diesel cars make more sense (if on motoplan) cos you'll probably fill upi your tank only half as often than with the same sized petrol engine - aa

	Inflation 01/04/2008 11:21 All of these things cause inflation to skyrocket. What does the government do then? Increase interest rates "to bring inflation under control"? Can anyone tell me how this mechanism works? Surely if you pay more to borrow money (which most companies do) it also pushes their input costs up and inflation goes even further up? The man in the street has LOOONG ago stopped borrowing for luxury items and are tightening their belts, so how does putting interest rates up help fight inflation? - DW

	Diesel 01/04/2008 11:23 I drive a diesel double cab and it has a 120L tank. From tomorrow it will cost me R1175 to fill up once. Granted it does last me over two weeks but it is still rediculous! Soon I won't have to worry though, as I will be in New Zealand and I will have electricity, empty beaches with no muggers on them, and a peaceful violence free lifestyle. Their fuel is quite pricey, but that's ok. I can deal with it, seeing as everything is within a max. of 15mins drive. What bliss! - Stephen Gold

	@Gatvol 01/04/2008 11:27 Honestly how do you blame the government for petrol/diesel price hike. You dumb idiot, don't you know that oil prices are increasing internationally. Still our fuel prices are still far lower than that of Europe & USA. Stop blaming our government for all your miseries. - Azania

	Diesel rip-off 01/04/2008 11:29 Only the wholesale price of diesel is regulated and not the retail price. This means that garage-owners can charge whatever they want, and believe me THEY DO! Some garages, especially on highways, charge up to 50c more per liter of diesel than others! Total rip-off!!!! - Grootkrokkodil

	Cut fuel tax 01/04/2008 11:31 Production is the engine of an economy. SA need to produce more and consume less. Trevor Manual should have aggressively cut the tax on fuel in particular diesel to stimulate economic growth. Our manufactures have to compete against the likes of China who can produce good at very low costs. We need to reduce the tax on fuel and maintain a weak currency to allow our manufactures to complete in the global arena. - KGP

	Gatvol2! 01/04/2008 11:32 I don't see why diesel should be more expensive than petrol, if it is renewable. The corrupt industries must explain to consumers! - Thobeka

	Diesel is going up worldwide 01/04/2008 11:37 Although I agree that the country suffers due to the petrol and especially the diesel hike, it is in proportion with the rest of the world. The worldwide demand for diesel has increased tremendously and the suppliers have a hard time keeping up, especially in the US, UK and China. It was recently reported that over 40% of passengers cars in Europe now have diesel engines. So the diesel hike is not a conspiracy by the government, however badly you would like to believe it. - Pieter

	I have been thinking about this for a while 01/04/2008 11:39 More people shoukld travel on bikes to work , I have been doing it for almost a year an my savings was more than 12000 in this time , not to mention what I have done for global warming !! - Bongani

	Inflation 01/04/2008 11:39 and if the food price goes up the inflation goes up and so will the interest rate... - Fus

	We will now see adverts like this... 01/04/2008 11:42 Car 4 Sale, bring a 5 litre of fuel as it comes with an empty fuel tank. - Luzuko

	My slight consolation 01/04/2008 11:44 ... at least my 1999 Hilux diesel bakkie has suddenly turned into a "luxury vehicle". Oh, I must remember to fill her up tonight! - Anony Moose

	With the ANC 01/04/2008 11:44 government doing nothing to build up a infrastructure to transport goods/people every price hike will hurt us more and more (economy/people/etc). The hikes are inevitable but the reaction of our lame government shouldn't be. Thats the really, REALLY sad part of it all. Look at the 1st world countries all are looking at alternatives, what are we doing? NOTHING. - M

	Diesel price increase! 01/04/2008 11:45 Everyone from the private sector to government just wants more and more money from the consumer-people wake up ,soon the consumer won`t have anything anymore to give -ever heard of the word subsidise????? - What`s next!!

	Turbo _ superfool 01/04/2008 11:46 Are you stupit didnt you read the article if the diesel price is higher food pricess are also going up i didn't know how can you think like that fool. - Biggs

	Very valid article - However: 01/04/2008 11:54 Good articel Hennie, and 100% spot on. But some of the folks who commented that we as south africans get shafted are missing a few facts here. The reason the price of petrol and diesel goes up, is because the price of oil goes up. Government can't do anything about that. Also, you should be asking why Sasol's price goes up with the rest of the petrolium companies. After all, their process doesn't involve oil. That's what makes it so unique. - RJ

	Diesel ignorance 01/04/2008 11:55 FACT: Diesel uses about 20% more crude oil (or coal in the case of Sasol) to produce than petrol does. ERGO: Diesel should be 20% more expensive than petrol. Its that simple. Why do you think diesel is more efficient than petrol hmm? It is because there is more hydrocarbon material packed into every litre. The reason diesel has historically been cheaper than petrol is due to supply and demand. When crude is processed it is very easy to refine it into a mix of products (petrol, diesel, paraffin, tar, wax etc). It is possible change the ratio of these products, but it becomes more expensive. Economically it was more profitable to sell the diesel (of which there was excess) off cheaply than to process it into petrol. With a greater demand these days for diesel, there is no longer the same kind of excess of diesel lying around that petroleum companies need to get rid of. It really is simple economics. Much though we would love to find yet another conspiracy here, the truth is far simpler. - L Savage

	Grain seeds 01/04/2008 11:58 I found out that there is a shortage of grain seeds available in SA, this will influence the next crops as there are not enough seeds available to plant. Fertilizer has also doubled in price from Nov 2007 to today so expect some hefty price increases and shortage of wheat and maize. - KAC

	Juan - Thought you had 01/04/2008 12:05 gone to the UK? Dammit! - saliem

	@stephen gold 01/04/2008 12:06 Thank you for leaving our wonderful country. This means more land for us. I just hope more of your kind will follow you. - Azania

	What's your point? 01/04/2008 12:10 We've always known that fuel prices affect everything else. What are you saying that's new? - Marty

	bla bla BLA 01/04/2008 12:14 Ironically all government officials will see that they get the "recommended" increases or Bonuses, now won't they? - Neil

	What do you mean M? 01/04/2008 12:22 They're building the Gautrain! - pscobabble

	LOL,Azania 01/04/2008 12:28 More land for you.LOL.For what?To tend your goats? - psycobabble

	Azania 01/04/2008 12:32 Spoken like a true idiot. Skills leaving country is never good moron, even if you dont like his skin. pig. - Sakkie

	@Neil 01/04/2008 12:34 No, they will just get bigger petrol allowances. The rest of us will have to pay for their fuel (via tax) and ours.No wonder they can still afford to drive big cars - M

	Reply to Stephen Gold 01/04/2008 12:36 Jealousy will get you no where Mr Gold just because you cannot leave SA, you make silly comments, what is wrong with leaving SA!! after all I don't hear any of you making any positive comments about SA. The very reason why we left is because SA has become a stuff up! Wake up! - Ingrid

	@Bongani 01/04/2008 12:40 As in bicycle or motor bike. Most of us can't travel by bicycle because the roads are either to dangerous or our work is too far away. Never mind taxis driving everywhere that could knock you down and kill you. - M

	Sasol 01/04/2008 12:51 To all the idiots out there complaining about Sasol's petrol and diesel costing the same as BP's etc, please read on. The price of petrol is regulated, as is the wholesale price of diesel. This means that, even though their product is cheaper to produce, Sasol is not allowed to sell it cheaper. It is against the law. If you really feel that you are not sharing in Sasol's spoils, why don't you buy Sasol shares? Stop blaming Sasol and rather blame government for the artificial fuel price. - Modder

	Comparing us to 1st world countries 01/04/2008 12:56 Although fuel prices are going up world wide, those people have options to make use of public transport that works and that is safe. We don't have that luxury and thus have to use our own transport. Furthermore, due our metro rail system being non existant, goods can no longer be transported that way to save us, the consumer the inflated costs. - Nyx

	Sasol and the "law" 01/04/2008 13:06 The law, you say? What law? this is SA. Oh, I see what you mean: the law of the jungle. - Bullethead

	Buy A Bike... 01/04/2008 13:07 ...it is for this reason I have bought myself a motorbike. Save on fuel costs and it sure as hell beats sitting in traffic for 2 hours in the morning and 1 1/2 hours in the evening. Maybe we should all buy bikes, look how it works in Thailand/Denmark/Malaysia etc etc etc. Food for thought. - Badger

	@Sakkie 01/04/2008 13:47 Your problem is that you equate white skin to skills. I've come across many dumb white fellows in my work environment including you. - Azania

	Biodiesel 01/04/2008 14:15 Biodiesel is economically feasible from the plain view of cost - diesel is expensive enough now that importing seeds or oil would still make cheaper fuel. However, production is not yet sustainable and causes more harm than good. - Craig


This comments facility is now closed.

Sponsored links

	Life Insurance

	Car Insurance

	UK Lottery

	First for Women

	Your Homeloan

	Bid or Buy

	Medical Aid

	Education

	SA TV online

	Car Rental

	Credit cards

	Personal Loans

	Best Car Deals

	Compare Quotes

	Life Insurance for Women