The public is highly critical of the severe fuel shortage at gas stations across the country. Many farmers in Slovenia are also unable to carry out their spring tasks due to the lack of fuel.
Pumps are steadily running dry, fuel is disappearing, reminding many people of the “golden” 1980s and Tito’s Yugoslavia — of fuel ration coupons and the “even-odd” system, when cars could only drive on certain days based on their licence plate number.
The shortage is hitting Ljubljana’s Dravlje district hard. The local Petrol station is short of both diesel and petrol. Similar shortages are being reported from Mengeš, Domžale, Borovnica, Solčava and other places.
Farmers are angry too
The Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry of Slovenia (KGZS) warns that the government is failing to secure sufficient supplies of agricultural diesel right in the middle of the spring season. Farmers in the field are still left without the fuel they need. The chamber is calling on the country’s two largest suppliers — Petrol and MOL — to ensure uninterrupted deliveries to regional filling stations.
According to KGZS, there are already cases of restricted deliveries or significantly longer waiting times for heating oil, which many farms use as fuel for their machinery. The problems are especially acute now, at the start of intensive spring work, when fuel consumption rises sharply.
At this time of year farmers are preparing the soil for sowing (ploughing, transporting and spreading manure and fertiliser) and readying the fields for spring crops. Spring sowing of various field crops is under way, along with soil cultivation in vineyards and orchards and numerous tasks on meadows and pastures.
“All these operations require intensive use of tractors and other agricultural machinery, which is why a stable and timely supply of fuel is essential for the smooth running of agricultural production,” KGZS stresses.
The chamber is urging farmers to show solidarity and to purchase heating oil rationally so that the available stocks can be distributed fairly among all farms.
Domen Mezeg
