As the Middle East war continues, there are signs of panic buying in Lismore for fuel, and for some people, groceries.

Supermarkets have been busy with people stocking up on food and personal items like toilet paper, thinking that fuel will be in short supply and that stock won't make its way from Brisbane depots to the Northern Rivers.

After a check around town, there is no need to panic-buy. Fuel supply is flowing; however, there has been some disruption to diesel supply.

While no one wanted to be named, one operator said their supplier was working hard to deliver regularly throughout the week.

"We're only on the small side, so we don't hold that much. Normally, we could get a couple of deliveries a day. We might run out of fuel for, you know, 4 or 5 hours before they've got the ability to be able to come and top us up. It could be half a day, it could be three-quarters of a day, but look, they've done well with what they've done to allocate."

As you would expect, diesel is the fastest-selling fuel, hence it runs out quicker than unleaded. As a small city surrounded by farmland, the need for diesel is high, especially as we head into macadamia harvesting, when farmers regularly use around 30-40,000 litres of diesel.

"I've got account customers here that have got excavators and stuff like that, and they burn astronomical amounts of fuel a week to keep them running and doing the contracts and that.

Having a short period without diesel has been the case for other petrol stations in the CBD. To make the diesel supply fair, some operators are putting out signs asking customers to use jerry cans, but not fuel pods that can hold anywhere from 500 to 5000 litres of diesel.

"Most of the guys bringing those in, they are lifelong customers, so we can actually have a conversation there and say, hey, look, can you cut it down? Cut it down and take what you need for today, and let us get through, you know, keep all my other customers, the guys that need to drive to and from work happy as well. That way, we can stagger our deliveries and try and not run out by the time they can get to us. Instead of just flogging our tank out within an hour, sort of thing. Everyone needs a bite at the cherry with the diesel as well," one operator said.

Fuel suppliers, such as local company North Coast Petroleum (NCP), are having a difficult time dividing up the fuel supply between service stations, farmers and heavy vehicle companies. The Lismore App has contacted NCP for comment.

Meanwhile, the ACCC will urgently meet with fuel market participants to seek more detailed explanations for recent pricing conduct during the current Middle Eastern crisis, amid consumer concerns about sudden petrol and diesel price spikes and distribution issues in regional and rural Australia.

The ACCC will also commence weekly market updates to provide increased transparency to consumers and enhanced scrutiny of retailers’ behaviour.

“We know the impact that higher prices are having on Australian consumers. We have been watching pricing behaviour closely since the outbreak of recent hostilities in the Middle East and will take action against any case of misleading consumers about the reason for the steep and rapid increase in prices by individual retailers or any breaches of the competition provisions,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.

“We are closely watching market behaviour and if there is conduct that is collusive or misleading or deceptive, we will investigate it and take action where appropriate.”

In addition, the ACCC is urgently exploring measures to assist with diesel distribution issues in regional and rural areas, in partnership with other relevant agencies.

“We are aware of concerning reports about diesel availability in regional and rural Australia. We know how critical diesel supply is to primary producers, transport businesses and many others, so we are prioritising our work to assist with this,” Ms Brakey said.

“The ACCC is able to authorise conduct, such as coordination or agreements relating to distribution, where it provides a net public benefit. We stand ready to receive an application for authorisation.”

The ACCC wrote to petrol retailers last week seeking information on recent price increases and expects responses by the end of the day.

“We are now calling the industry into an emergency meeting to explain their actions during this period of volatility,” Ms Brakey said.

“At that meeting, we will reiterate our expectations to industry and ask that they explain to the Australian community the reasons behind recent price spikes. We are also inviting representatives of motoring organisations representing the voice of consumers to be part of these discussions.”

“The petrol industry should be under no illusions. We will act decisively and to the fullest extent of the law,” Ms Brakey said.

The ACCC also welcomes government plans to move to increase the maximum penalties for relevant breaches of Australian Consumer Law and the Competition and Consumer Act by fuel companies from $50 to $100 million and will seek the highest penalties appropriate in any cases we bring to the courts.

We have today published the letters received from the Treasurer, as well as the letters written to the major fuel companies.

“We strongly recommend that, where possible, consumers use information on our website and on fuel apps to shop for the cheapest fuel, to locate retailers that are pricing moderately compared to others and reward those that offer the best deal.”

Locally, prices varied widely in Lismore, with up to 20 cents a litre difference. It certainly pays to shop around to find the lowest prices.

The big winners out of the Middle East war are electric car owners. It is situation normal for them.