20/03/2026

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | MAR 20, 2026

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Australian farmers, miners feel diesel squeeze

MELBOURNE: Tight domestic diesel supplies due to limited stockpiles and far-flung distribution networks are rattling Australia’s farming and mining sectors, the main users of the transport fuel, as the Iran war disrupts global oil supplies. With the war squeezing fuel availability, China banned exports of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel last week, heightening fears of fuel shortages. Australia, Bangladesh and the Philippines are especially reliant on Chinese fuel supply. Australia holds stockpiles far below global standards and last year imported 84% of its petroleum product needs, government statistics show. “Australian farmers and miners are competing in a global marketplace for refined product. We are entirely dependent on those imports,” said CLSA analyst Baden Moore. Given Australia’s vast distances, diesel is critical for regional businesses and communities, but shortages are beginning to bite. Diesel stocks are down to 30 days,

Charuenpunson, fears a chain reaction across the industry if fishers are forced to remain in port for an extended period. “Every related profession will lose their jobs, leading to even more widespread unemployment,“ she said. At the dimly lit town market, a few hundred metres from the jetty, the stalls are still well stocked with fish, shrimp and blue crabs. But the number of customers have yet to return to pre-Covid numbers, and the current uncertainty adds to the gloomy mood among shopkeepers. Deboning a small yellowstripe scad, 67-year-old vendor Malida Chaiyakul said supply chains were at risk. “If all the boats stop, then there’s obviously no product to sell.” – AFP contracted customers were securing 100% of their contracted volumes. AIP said the suppliers had ceased spot sales. “This has caused scarcity in the spot market due to unprecedented demand,” a BP spokesperson said. Viva Energy declined to comment, ExxonMobil declined to comment beyond AIP statements, and Ampol, the country’s biggest fuel supplier, did not respond to requests for comment. Meanwhile, Blue Cap Mining (BCM), a small gold producer, has stood down some employees due to fuel shortages, its parent company Matsa Resources told the country’s bourse. “Matsa and BCM are working through the fuel shortage issue which is impacting the mining industry,” it said. More miners are likely to follow in Blue Cap’s footsteps if current conditions persist over the next week, said Warren Pearce, CEO of the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies. “At the moment there appears to be a portion of the industry, at the smaller end, that are missing out or only receiving rationed fuel supplies,” he said. For now, Australia’s biggest miners are watching and waiting. The country is the world’s biggest supplier of seaborne iron ore and is the top coal exporter. BHP is closely scrutinising diesel markets, but has not made any changes to its operations, CEO Mike Henry said on Wednesday, adding that higher diesel costs would drive up commodity prices. Aviation fuel is also a concern, given Australia imports 32% from China and 15% from South Korea which has also restricted exports, CLSA’s Moore said. However, Australia’s Transport Minister Catherine King said on Monday airlines Qantas and Virgin were well placed to withstand war-related fuel disruption and there were no short-term supply issues. – Reuters

o China’s ban on product exports to exacerbate shortage

controlling how much distributors and retailers could deliver to regional areas, said Brent Squires, a general manager at diesel and grains distributor Riordan. “It’s a period of high demand as farmers need to start planting crops following recent good rains through central Victoria and southern New South Wales. “If farmers can’t plant their crops now, there will be no crops to harvest in the summer,” he said. BP said it and other major importers were making sure

Prime Anthony Albanese yesterday urged Australians to avoid panic buying of petrol and diesel and appointed a national coordinator to tackle shortages. In southeast Australia, solid rains have set up a strong planting season that could be hampered if farmers lack tractor fuel, while some smaller miners are already rationing diesel and larger producers are closely monitoring supply. The country’s oil refiners and importers started allocating fuel volumes about two weeks ago, Minister

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. “There has been an unprecedented rush on fuel – especially by bulk customers wanting to secure diesel before the full price impact hits,” said Malcolm Roberts, CEO of the Australian Institute of Petroleum. AIP’s members include Mobil, BP and Australia’s two refiners, Viva Energy and Ampol . “The buying surge has left customers without sufficient, secure contracted supply searching for fuel,” Roberts, said.

A drone view of a seeder sowing wheat at a farm in Bencubbin, Australia. – REUTERSPIC

Troubled waters: Thai fishermen marooned by rising fuel costs PATTAYA: With his belongings stuffed into a plastic bag, Thai fisherman Narongsak Kongsuk heads home, far from the sea. city of Pattaya, where egrets and stray cats compete for fish that have fallen from plastic tubs. the buildings lining the beach on Wednesday, several boats made their way back from a night of fishing.

around a third of approximately 1,000 fishing boats have also stopped going to sea due to higher fuel prices, according to Em Phea, director of the provincial fisheries administration. “They cannot make a profit,“ he said, adding that some fishermen were still working thanks to fuel stockpiles. “For now we still have enough seafood, but we don’t know yet what will happen in the near future.” And in Vietnam’s Quang Tri province, fisherman Nguyen Tri said he was still deciding whether “to sail or not” – considering the price of diesel for a fishing trip had risen from around US$2,300 to US$3,800, and it was uncertain whether he could earn enough to cover costs. Back in Sriracha, another Thai boat owner, 61-year-old Jariya

“Those still going out are using the cheaper ‘green oil’ left over in the tanks. Once this batch is gone, everyone will probably dock because we can’t handle the costs,“ Kwanchai predicted. The National Fisheries Association of Thailand estimated more than 1,000 boats have already been forced to stay in port, and half the fleet of around 9,000 vessels could soon be idled if the situation drags on. The association’s leaders met with the government in the capital Bangkok on Wednesday to ask in particular that the price of the diesel reserved for fishers be capped, as it is for the general public at the pump. In neighbouring Cambodia’s coastal Preah Sihanouk province,

“I’ve been doing this for about 50 years and I’ve never encountered a situation like this before,“ said Kwanchai, who is in his sixties. The boat owner said he was no longer covering his costs due to the rise in the price of diesel, his main expense. Fishers in Thailand benefit from tax-exempt diesel, known as “green oil”, which cost less than 20 baht per litre before the war in the Middle East broke out on Feb 28. It now costs 35 baht and is increasingly hard to find. “There’s no profit. It’s straight-up losses,“ said Kwanchai, who has been forced to send his employees home while waiting for prices to fall. As the sun began to rise behind

Like hundreds of other fishers in Thailand, his boat is stuck at the dock because of surging diesel prices, as the war in the Middle East disrupts global supply. The 27-year-old father normally earns up to 20,000 baht (RM2,423) a month, but locked on land, Narongsak fears he will no longer be able to provide for his family. “There’s the cost of my child’s milk, various other expenses and car payments,” he told AFP on Wednesday. “I’ll have to find part-time jobs.” His boss, Kwanchai Phatisena, has reluctantly decided to leave his boat moored for at least two weeks at the Sriracha jetty, north of the Thai resort