The inter-ministerial committee has agreed to increase transportation costs and fuel surcharges starting from the next price adjustment period.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance have jointly reviewed and agreed to adjust transportation costs and surcharges to accurately reflect actual expenses. (Illustrative image)

The agency stated: In recent days, there has been a phenomenon of some gasoline retail businesses requesting to close or temporarily suspend operations, concentrated in several provinces and cities such as Can Tho, An Giang, Binh Phuoc, and Dak Lak…

The Domestic Market Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade explained that the main reason for this phenomenon is that from the end of 2021 to the present, fuel business costs have increased sharply. Wholesale businesses lack sufficient financial resources to import goods, so they mainly maintain enough stock to supply their own distribution systems and maintain inventory levels as required. Many businesses have drastically reduced sales discounts to discourage retailers from purchasing large quantities of goods, leading to losses for retail businesses.

In addition, the recent storms and floods have also partially affected the delivery of goods by businesses, leading to disruptions or shortages of supply in some localities.

Ensure that the actual costs incurred are accurately reflected.

In light of the above situation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has directed key petroleum traders and distributors to proactively secure supplies, develop import plans, and strictly implement the total allocation plan and minimum import quota (for key traders) approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in 2022 to ensure sufficient petroleum supply for the domestic market.

Simultaneously, on October 6, 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance jointly reviewed and agreed to adjust the increase in the transportation costs of petroleum products from refineries to ports and the premium (the commission rate per liter for wholesale businesses, based on which wholesale businesses will calculate the commission for retail businesses) in the base price of petroleum products in the price adjustment period on October 11, 2022. This is to ensure that the actual costs incurred by businesses are accurately reflected, helping businesses increase discounts in the petroleum distribution system and minimizing the impact on petroleum prices and the government's inflation control efforts.

This is considered an important solution and has been repeatedly proposed by the Petroleum Association to the Ministry of Finance, but it has not yet been resolved.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has also requested the State Bank of Vietnam to direct commercial banks to implement policies to support and facilitate petroleum businesses by providing credit limits and preferential interest rates to help them reduce financial costs, increase resources for importing from abroad and purchasing petroleum from domestic sources, and ensure sufficient petroleum supply for the market.

We propose that the main distributors share the profits fairly.

Furthermore, to ensure the adequate and continuous supply of petroleum products to the domestic market, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Official Letter No. 6192/BCT-TTTN requesting the Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities to coordinate and direct state management agencies and petroleum businesses in their localities to implement the following tasks and solutions:

Firstly, we request that petroleum businesses in the area ensure uninterrupted fuel supply within their distribution systems and maintain sales operations at their retail gas stations.

Secondly, we propose that petroleum wholesalers and distributors in the area share the supply and profits within their distribution systems with retail gasoline stations and outlets in a reasonable manner; and that retail gasoline businesses, dealers, and outlets share the difficulties faced by petroleum wholesalers and distributors in the recent past.

Thirdly, direct state management agencies to closely monitor the sale of petroleum products at retail gasoline stations in the area, ensuring that the sales of petroleum businesses are not interrupted; require petroleum businesses in the area to commit to strictly complying with the regulations in Decree No. 83/2014/ND-CP.