Prime Minister Philip Davis said yesterday there needs to be a "balance between profitability and affordability", as he suggested that he was comfortable with the profit margins earned by fuel retailers, who stopped selling diesel two weeks ago in a bid to get the government to continue negotiating with them on a margin increase.

"At this time, we still believe that there is room for profitability as they are presently constructed, and we continue listening to them to see how we can help," Davis told reporters.

"Well, they have my attention. They did not have to stop selling to get that attention, but I think at the end of the day, there has to be a balance here. There has to be a balance between profitability and affordability."

Not all retailers on New Providence participated in the short-lived action to stop selling diesel.

Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association (BPRA) President Raymond Jones has said operators are "under water" and not making a reasonable profit. He said selling diesel is cost prohibitive.

The government controls the amount of profit fuel retailers and wholesalers can earn on a gallon of gas or diesel. Retailers have said the $0.54 per gallon on gasoline, and the $0.34 per gallon on diesel aren't sufficient to cover their expenses.

Speaking on the sidelines of the opening of the Consumer Affairs and Consumer Protection Commission Building yesterday, Davis said, "We have a very consumptive society.

"Everything that we have is imported. We can't control what's happening in other jurisdictions. A lot of times what happens in other jurisdictions impacts us here in a very negative way.

"And so, until such time as we are able to control some of those things that we can, that's what we're working on. We'll see how best we could help the businesses to grow and be profitable, but the minister of economic affairs will indicate that we did move to help them during last year when oil prices were going out the roof.

"We see an easing of inflation, we see an easing of prices around the world that will come to bear here in The Bahamas soon. It takes a little while for us to catch up because of supply chain issues, but as soon as things catch up, I think there will be a leveling off soon."

After meeting with retailers in March, the prime minister said he asked them to give the government another two weeks to address their challenges.

"The retailers do have serious issues concerning their survivability in the context of what's happening worldwide," Davis said on March 14.

"A lot of the challenges that they face, I'm sympathetic to and I understand their need to survive. I've asked them to give us another two weeks to assess the situation and see how best we could help them.

But the retailers said the government has been non-responsive to their plight.

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