Some fuel wholesalers have announced a reduction in the discount rate for dealers as of March 8, with the new rates being VND400-500 per liter for oil products and VND700 per liter for gasoline products. Some general warehouses in the North have announced new discount rates of VND300-400 per liter for gasoline and VND100 per liter for oil. Certain warehouses have even announced a zero dong discount per liter for both gasoline and oil products from March 8th. According to the dealers' calculations, the discount must be over VND1,000 per liter for profitability. While the discount is at risk of falling to zero dong per liter, many dealers have reported difficulty in obtaining supplies in recent days.
In response to this situation, where wholesalers are squeezing discounts again and potentially causing a shortage of gasoline and oil as seen in 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has sent a document to fuel wholesalers and distributors on March 8, requesting a reasonable adjustment of discounts to ensure that the supply chain is not disrupted. The ministry has also proposed implementing some solutions to ensure fuel supply for the domestic market.
Specifically, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has requested fuel wholesalers to import petrol products following the plan assigned at the beginning of the year and the additional import amount provided on February 24. Fuel wholesalers must also disclose the source of imported goods and the sales for the market on the company's website and report to the Ministry before the 20th of each month. In case any gasoline retail station lacks goods to sell, the supplier must take responsibility and be handled in accordance with regulations.
