Fuel market in Ukraine is gradually being monopolized by premium chains – expert
17 September 12:21
EXCLUSIVE
There are no obvious signs of a monopoly in the Ukrainian fuel market, but there are alarming trends towards its monopolization by large premium chains. This was stated by Leonid Kosyanchuk, former president of the Association of Oil Market Operators of Ukraine, liquidator of the Chernobyl accident and top manager of oil companies, in an interview with "Komersant Ukrainian".
“Today I see no signs of a monopoly market. We can buy fuel both at a high price and 8-9 hryvnias cheaper. A monopoly is when everyone has the same price. But since 2017, premium chains have been trying to monopolize the market step by step,”
– explained Kosyanchuk.
According to him, large players deliberately create financial pressure on small and medium-sized networks by introducing expensive initiatives. In particular, in the past, premium chains lobbied for the installation of early warning systems at each gas station, which required investments of UAH 200-300 thousand.
“These are serious costs for small operators, especially if the filling station is located in a village or depressed area. They simply cannot afford such expenses. We stopped this initiative when I was still the president of the association. It was canceled by Baloga, who was then the head of the State Emergency Service,”
– he added.
However, according to Kosyanchuk, attempts to oust less powerful market participants have not stopped. He gave an example of the latest initiative – the introduction of an advance payment of income tax, which, in his opinion, discriminates against small gas stations.
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“Today, companies that sell gasoline, diesel and gas have to pay 60 thousand hryvnias a month. And this is a fixed amount that does not depend on real profits or sales. And these funds are not even credited to future tax periods,”
– he said.
Kosyanchuk emphasized that large premium networks, which have been paying these amounts, have not felt any changes, while small and medium-sized companies have found themselves in an extremely difficult situation.
“Today, 80% of operators in the middle and lower price segment do not even earn the 60 thousand per month. Because of this, some networks were forced to lease out gas stations for free in order not to lose their licenses,”
– the expert noted.
He also questioned the effectiveness of the Antimonopoly Committee in this context, hinting at the lack of systemic control over market abuse.
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