The profound reason why various gas station closed down was the irregular fluctuation of gasoline prices prompting sellers delay their procurement to deliver before State’s announcement of the prices. Additionally, the adjusted prices were for macro-economic stabilization which barred importers from getting any interests leading to lower payback to the authorized distributors, which left them in dilemma of more loss incurred by more sales.
Consequently, many enterprises failed to compensate for actually incurred costs. The authorized retailers and traders were working with caution of potential shortage or disruption of domestic gasoline supply, which may lead to disturbance of the economy and the necessary needs of the people. To get away from scrunity, petroleum trading establishments made up a variety of reasons like the fuels being supplying, petrol out but oil, store repairing, among others.
By our investigation, the State does not regulate on repayment to petroleum trading of retailers, which depends on market needs, global petroleum prices, reserves of distributing suppliers, and sales of both sides. The repayment also depends on sales policies, trade competence of agent distributors, direct contractors, intermediate distributors, and the allocation of repayment within the system. As the supply is plentiful, the global prices may reduce and distributors may repay stores and retailers to promote sales. In the reverse scenerio, as the global prices go up, the distributors may reduce the repayment.
So as to avoid the situation that as the petroleum prices reduce, the buyers fail to buy for the time to come, the authorized agents and retailers should propose to State’s management authority to administer timely measures for market stablization domestically to support retailers to ensure supply of petroleum to the public. Accordingly, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Industry and Trade should calculate costs that retailers may pay to bring a liter of petroleum from the storehouses to the stores and sell, which regulates specific repayments that ensure benefits of enterprises.
Reported by Khai Anh – Translated by Vi Bao
