The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has quashed rumours that Vietnam is running short of petrol for domestic use and said any hoard of this product will be strictly dealt with by relevant agencies.
Sufficient supply of petrol for domestic use
Vo Van Quyen, head of the Domestic Market Department under the MOIT, said that wholesale petrol companies have an adequate supply of petrol and oil for consumption and that his department will work with relevant agencies to examine filling stations that are said to have refused to serve their customers.
Over the past few days, many filling stations have halted operations or not operated at full capacity, reasoning that there is a power cut or a lack of petrol supply from wholesale trading companies. However, wholesale companies have confirmed that they have enough petrol and oil for supply.
Sources said petrol agents do not want to purchase more petrol and oil due to high transport and low commission costs, putting mounting pressure on wholesale companies to raise retail prices.
The MOIT asked wholesale petrol and gas trading companies to provide a sufficient supply of the product for their distribution networks, including agents and retail filling stations.
It requested the provincial Departments of Industry and Trade, their market management agencies and other relevant agencies to keep a close watch on market fluctuations and hand down heavy fines on any filling stations that hoard petrol illegally to manipulate the market.
The market watchdogs have revoked the business license of a number of filling stations in several localities for hoarding petrol and waiting for a price hike.
