A person refuels a car (symbolic photo) Photo: picture alliance
From BZ/dpa
The sharp drop in prices for gasoline and diesel in Poland is currently attracting more and more drivers from Brandenburg to the neighboring country.
Depending on the fuel, the price differences are up to 60 cents. “We see how the catchment area is expanding,” said a spokesman for the gas station interest group on Tuesday. The rule of thumb is: with a price difference of 15 cents per liter, the catchment area is around five kilometers.
As the price difference increases, the area in which people in Germany make their way across the border grows, the spokesman explained. With differences of 40 or 50 cents, “tank tourism really begins”.
Criticism of campaign aid
The Polish oil company Orlen has been pushing down fuel prices for some time. The average price for gasoline and diesel fuel is currently 5.99 zloty per liter – the equivalent of 1.30 euros, significantly less than in Germany.
Two weeks before the parliamentary elections in Poland, the opposition recently accused the company of providing election campaign help for the national-conservative PiS government with artificially low gasoline prices. The Polish state holds 27.5 percent shares in Orlen; CEO Daniel Obajtek is a member of the ruling PiS party. With a market share of 65 to 70 percent, Orlen sets the pricing – others have to follow suit.
Fuel tourism is spatially limited, said the spokesman for the gas station interest group. The catchment area has so far reached its maximum at around 50 kilometers inland. In this radius, people sometimes go on extra day trips because of the cheap fuel. This phenomenon is not only evident on the border with Poland, similar observations have also been made in Saarland or on the Dutch border, said the spokesman.