PM: Domestic Petrol Prices Must Closely Follow World Trend

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has recently assigned the Ministries of Finance, and Industry and Trade to adjust domestic retail petroleum prices along with fluctuations in the global rates in the circumstance petrol traders are complaining a loss of more than VND500 per liter of gasoline.

 

The world crude oil prices have stayed at low level of US$34 per barrel; however, petroleum prices have increased to US$60 per barrel, petrol importers said, adding that input costs of a liter of gasoline now includes 25 per cent of import tariff, 10 per cent of special consumption tax, 10 per cent of value-added tax, VND1,000 of petroleum fee, VND1,000 refunding to the government advance, and VND500 spending on price stabilization fund.

 

The government have recently decided to slash domestic retail price of diesel by VND500 or 4.54 per cent per liter to VND10,500 per liter after lowering petroleum import tariff to 25 per cent from 35 per cent.

 

Earlier, Vietnam National Petroleum Corp (Petrolimex), the biggest petroleum distributor holding a 60 per cent market share in Vietnam, proposed the ministries hike price of gasoline by VND500/liter or 4.54 per cent to VND11,500/liter but the ministries declined.

 

Under a recent decision by the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance, petroleum trading companies have been allowed to decide selling prices of petrol products from September 16 last year.

 

Vietnam now heavily relies on imported petroleum products as it has no oil refineries. Its first Dung Quat refinery is under construction and is slated for operation on February 21 this year. (News)