Petroleum dealers give govt ultimatum to revise their margin to 8% by March 26

The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) has given an ultimatum to the government to revise up their margins to 8% per litre of petroleum products till March 26, 2026 in the wake of a significant price hike of Rs55 per litre in petrol and diesel prices last week.

Talking to Business Recorder after addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Friday, PPDA chairman Abdul Sami Khan said they would review the situation after Eid-ul-Fitr as what options would be available to them on the table to get their demand accepted if the government continued to maintain the margins at current level of 2.59% (around Rs8/litre).

He gave a deadline of March 26 to the government.

Meanwhile, PPDA senior vice chairman Malik Khuda Baksh said, “[So far], we have given no call for [shutter down] strike from March 27. However, we will review the situation if our demands are not met till March 26”.

Also read: Fuel shock revives case for PHEVs, REEVs in Pakistan

He added margins for petroleum dealers had stood at 3.60% (Rs8 per litre) before the government substantially increased petrol and diesel prices by Rs55/ per litre last week.

The two leaders said their investment [working capital] had increased significantly to procure petroleum products from oil marketing companies (OMCs) to be sold at petrol pumps after the government increased petrol and diesel price by Rs55/ per litre each to Rs321.17/ per litre and Rs335.86/per litre, respectively on March 6, 2026.

They said running petrol pumps at the current low margin remained “no more feasible”, and an upward increase in the margins was necessary to continue operate the pumps in profit, according to the petroleum dealers.

Calculations suggest if the government accepts the petroleum dealers’ demand to increase their margins to 8% per litre, their margin would surge by Rs17 per litre in absolute term to Rs25 per litre from Rs8 per litre at present.