BRUSSELS — Petrol use declined in Belgium in the first half of this year by 11 percent compared with the same period in 2004.

Belgians bought less petrol due to record prices, while higher excise taxes kept ‘fuel tourists’ from neighbouring countries away.

Service stations saw fuel sales decline by 125 million litres — including diesel — in the first six months of this year, newspaper ‘De Tijd’ reported on Tuesday.

The figure was compiled by the Belgian petroleum federation BPF, which conducted an internal investigation of its members, including the big oil companies.

With 70 percent of the market, BPF members give a representative picture of the entire Belgian service station sector.

BPF secretary Gaëtan van de Werve said the decline in fuel sales was due to rising oil prices, which in turn prompted Belgians to buy less fuel

The decline in diesel sales is less severe than petrol, but a fall of 1.5 percent was recorded nevertheless. This is due to the fact that diesel cars — which use less fuel — are becoming increasingly popular in Belgium.

The BPF figures indicated that 70 percent of fuel sold at Belgian service stations is diesel. This figure is so high because large transport companies also use diesel.

And of all new cars registered in Belgium, 72 percent are diesel-fuelled.

Adding petrol and diesel together, fuel sales fell in the first six months of this year by 4.7 percent. That meant sales fell by 125,000 cubic metres or 125 million litres at BPF service stations.

[Copyright Expatica News 2005]

Subject: Belgian news