According to an announcement, the Finance Ministry adjusted domestic selling prices of kinds of gasoline and oil. Specifically, A92 petrol was raised from VND20,800 per litre to VND22,900 while mazut jumped by 12% to VND18,800 per litre. Kerosene rose by 3% to VND20,800 per litre and diesel increased by 5% to VND21,400 per litre.
Customers
face more difficulties after price hike of petroleum products.According to Vu Thi Mai, Deputy
Minister of Finance, domestic gasoline products now mainly depend on import and
the local retail prices of petrol products depend on the world market price’s
fluctuation. This is the first major fuel price hike in 2012 since a price cut
last year.
The MOF also cut import duty on several oil products to 0% and reduced petrol subsidies to VND300 per litre. The MOF said the price hike will help importers offset losses due to rising oil prices on the world market and discourage petrol smuggling across the borders to neighbouring countries.
Finance Deputy Minister Vu Thi Mai said that the local prices of those petroleum products are some VND2,000 a liter lower than the basis price used to calculate the local retail prices. If the import tax exemption and the extraction of the stabilization fund still cannot cover the losses suffered by petroleum wholesalers, the only solution is a price hike, she told the regular press meeting at the government office in Hanoi.
Though the ministry has deployed many tools in an attempt to stabilize the prices, local retail prices are still some VND4,313-8,387 a liter/kilogram lagging behind their regional counterparts.
The Finance Ministry will continue steering market inspection and control to minimize unreasonable price hike of other goods and services as well as implement instruction on petrol thrift in production and consumption.
Reported by C.T – Translated by A.C
