Proposal to "kill" RON 95 gasoline, only use E5 biofuel

After the successful elimination of RON92 gasoline, there is a proposal to eliminate RON95 gasoline.

This proposal was highly appreciated by the leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and they affirmed that they would synthesize it to report to the Government leaders.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Electronic Information Portal, this is a recommendation recently raised by businesses at a working session with Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai.

According to the report of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first two months of 2018, the total domestic gasoline consumption reached about 1,429,905 m3, of which E5 RON 92 gasoline reached about 593,609 m3, accounting for about 42%.

The remaining RON 95 gasoline consumption reached about 836,296 cubic meters, accounting for about 58%.

"In the first two months of 2018, the total amount of E5 gasoline consumed domestically increased significantly, about 33-34% compared to 2017, which was 8-9%. This is a good sign," Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai assessed.

However, on the business side, Mr. Tran Ngoc Nam, Deputy General Director of Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex), said that the sales rate of E5 gasoline has not reached the expected level.

According to Mr. Nam, consumers do not really trust it because public opinion is still mixed, the price difference between E5 bio-fuel and RON 95 mineral gasoline is not big enough to attract users.

According to Mr. Cao Hoai Duong, General Director of PVOil, the price difference between E5 and RON 95 of 1,800-2,000 VND will make E5 gasoline more attractive.

Meanwhile, Mr. Tran Minh Ha, Deputy General Director of Saigon Petro Company Limited, said that the issue of selling E5 RON 95 bio-fuel should be raised soon and only two types of bio-fuel should be sold nationwide, E5RON 92 and E5 RON 95.

Saigon Petro's opinion received the agreement of many representatives of key petroleum trading enterprises.

However, one of the major concerns of petroleum traders today is the high price of cassava.

According to Petrolimex, the rising domestic price of cassava has increased the cost of input materials to produce E100 alcohol, causing the recent increase in the selling price of E100, the cost of mixing and E5 gasoline has also increased, causing difficulties for businesses.

Mr. Vu Kien Chinh, General Director of Tung Lam Company Limited, said that in 10 months (from June 2017 to April 15, 2018), the price of cassava increased by 2,000 VND/kg (from 3,600 VND to 5,600 VND), leading to the mandatory increase in the price of E100, not because of the company's monopoly.

Accordingly, this company hopes to receive support from state management agencies, creating conditions for domestic production of E100 instead of importing alcohol from abroad.

Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai highly appreciated the proposal to soon deploy E5 RON 95 biofuel and affirmed that he would synthesize it to report to the Government leaders.