E5 gasoline is not tightly managed and can easily fall into traps.

It is said that biofuel is widely used in the world because the quality and technology of ethanol production are well controlled, leading to high purity. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, ethanol production for blending is currently only provided by Tung Lam Company. This leads to the risk of unstable quality and price when there is a monopoly in fuel supply.

According to Mr. Do Huu Tao, Head of Petrolimex Petroleum Technical Department, petroleum is a sensitive commodity. The system of standards and regulations is complete. "We strictly control, evaluate at the factory, evaluate on the system, take samples on the market, and test to meet the requirements before being produced on the market. Regarding preservation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has issued QCVN8/2012 standards related to equipment, tanks for mixing petroleum... which are also very strict to ensure the quality of petroleum when supplied to the market."

In addition, when supplying to the market, Petrolimex's system is spread across the country, many regions have different weather conditions. "We have evaluated the quality of E5 gasoline in many different weather conditions, including the most severe weather such as humid areas, highlands, and rainy areas. During the 3-month testing period, the quality of E5 gasoline is completely guaranteed," Mr. Tao affirmed.

As the unit responsible for managing the quality of gasoline circulating on the market, the General Department of Standards - Metrology - Quality (Ministry of Science and Technology) has issued 19 standards. TCVN 8063 is the national standard on quality control management, in addition to standards for the amount of ethanol mixed into gasoline. In addition, there are other related standards...

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Khoi, Deputy Director in charge of the Department of Standards (General Department of Standards - Metrology - Quality), the entire system of standards has been applied according to the US standards - the most popular standards today. The entire process of building, compiling and implementing standards is based on the participation of many parties from business representatives, management agencies, the Ministry of Transport, collecting many opinions and feedback...

Mr. Khoi said: "According to the regulation on ethanol content in gasoline since 2015, it has been at about 2.7 - 3%. The current regulation is 4-5% ethanol."

According to Mr. Nguyen Phu Cuong, Director of the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Trade, to manage the quality of E5 gasoline, the Standards Development Committee, including representatives of fuel manufacturers, automobile manufacturers, and management agencies, had to develop a specific set of standards.

This set of standards and regulations is also constantly updated and reviewed to match the general trend of the world. Vietnam's fuel quality management standards and regulations must also be similar to those of other countries in the world. "We cannot follow a single type of fuel," Mr. Cuong emphasized.

Gasoline in particular and fuel in general are managed according to the Law on Standards, regulations, conformity assessment by batch, or assessment by process at the production facility.

However, with the acceptance of biofuel (i.e., gasoline mixed with ethanol alcohol), the management of gasoline quality in the market requires the participation of not only the General Department of Standards - Metrology - Quality (Ministry of Science and Technology) but also the market management agency to ensure fuel quality for people, avoiding the correct policy of using environmentally friendly biofuel becoming a "trap" for people's means of transportation./.