Ministry sets out to stabilise petrol prices through end of 2011's first quarter

Petrol price will remain stable through the first quarter of 2011.

The measures are being taken to ensure the supply and price remain stable through the first quarter of 2011.

According to the ministry’s Import-Export Department, local petrol traders have so far imported 70 per cent of the minimum import quota. The petrol consumption in 2010 has by now been 8 per cent higher than 2009.

However, some trading companies, including Military Petroleum Company, Maritime Petroleum Company and Mekong Petroleum Company have changed their import plans to avoid losses. This is creating difficulties for others, especially Vietnam National Petroleum Corporation (Petrolimex).

Vice-director of Vietnam National Petroleum Corporation, Dam Thi Huyen, said that enterprises should equally join in the market to avoid a supply shortage.

Huyen revealed that the north had five agents managed by Petrolimex while the south had 11 agents. The pressure on Petrolimex over diesel oil supply is high. This month the company is seeing an increase in market demand by 20 - 30 per cent compared to recent months.

Due to losses, some companies have also reduced commissions for agents, causing some petrol stations to stop or reduce their sale volume and wait for the price to go up.

Meanwhile, deputy chief of the ministry’s Market Management Department, Vo Van Quyen, confirmed that no enterprise was facing a supply shortage and that they had closed  petrol stations just to wait for higher prices.

"We have sent official dispatches to the Market Management Department in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City asking them to investigate and tackle this problem. They are instructed to strictly punish speculation cases, even to revoke their business licences,” Quyen said.

Addressing the conference, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Cam Tu, reaffirmed the prime ministerial directive to keep petrol prices stable until the end of the Tet Festival. The ministry has asked petrol trading companies to follow import plans, guarantee enough supply and ensure operation.

The ministry also asked PetroVietnam to ensure that Dung Quat oil refinery will operate at its highest capacity from now to the end of the first quarter in 2011.

At present, to stablise the petrol market, as well as reduce difficulties for trading companies, the ministry will ask the prime minister and the Ministry of Finance to cut down petrol import tax.

The ministry will also negotiate with the State Bank of Vietnam to guarantee enough foreign currency sources for local importers.