Vietnam Raises Retail Petrol Prices, Decreases Import Tariff

The Vietnamese Ministries of Trade and Finance have just decided to increase retail prices of some petrol by VND900 (US$0.05) per liter from the afternoon of March 6, and reduce import tariffs on petroleum products from 15 per cent to 10 per cent from March 7, according to local newspapers.

 

This is the first time the Vietnamese government has raised retail petrol prices and reduced import tariffs on petroleum products at the same time to balance the interests of the government and customers.

 

Accordingly, the price of A92 petrol now stands at VND11,000 per liter, compared to VND10,100 previously. A90 and A83 petrol are respectively sold at VND10,800 and VND10,600 per liter.

 

The price of diesel and kerosene currently remains unchanged.

According to the Ministry of Trade, the hike was prompted by increasing world oil price. Deputy Finance Minister Truong Chi Trung said world petrol prices have risen by 1 per cent-13 per cent against the previous month.

 

Trung added the Vietnamese government still has to compensate losses for local petroleum importers of around VND200 per liter. The total compensation budget this year is estimated at VND3 trillion (US$187 million).

The two ministries are still not sure when Vietnamese enterprises will be free to set prices of their imported petroleum products without State intervention. (Labour, Youth)