Long queues are seen at petrol stations
According to the Directorate of Market Surveillance in Ho Chi Minh City, on October 10, there were 121/550 petrol stations in the city that had no more gasoline to sell while the remaining stores were still operating normally. There was no hoard of goods and no increase in petrol price. The staff of the Directorate of Market Surveillance also simultaneously paid visits to petrol stores citywide to check the situation.
A number of petrol stations temporarily stopped selling in Thu Duc City, Go Vap District, Districts 3, 4, 5, and 8. Amongst them, Hiep Hai Ha Petroleum Store - Hiep Hai Private Enterprise Ha at 1193 Pham The Hien Street in Ward 5 of District 8 and Ky Thu On petrol station - Ky Thu O Private Enterprise at 397 in Ward 5 of District 8 ran out of gas at 7 o'clock but still sold oil while the petrol station - Branch 16 at 442 Cach Mang Thang Tam Street in Ward 11 of District 3 ran out of gasoline E5, Comeco petrol retail store at 42 Ton That Thuyet Street in Ward 4 of District 4 ran out of gas in the morning but still sold oil.
Yesterday, even the stores in the Petrolimex system lacked gasoline to sell. For instance, staff at the gas filling station at the corner of the intersection of Tran Phu - Le Hong Phong streets in District 5 announced that the station was out of gas when a car came in. However, in the evening, this gas station sold again; therefore, despite the rain, there were crowds of drivers in the station.
Elsewhere in the Southern Province of Binh Duong, many gas stations in Thu Dau Mot City, Thuan An City, and Tan Uyen town, announced to stop selling because they ran out of petrol.
Kien Giang and Dong Thap provinces in the Mekong Delta have more than 600 petrol stations each but many of the stations have closed temporarily as they had no more petrol to sell. Consequently, locals had to run a long distance to fill their vehicles but they were allowed to buy only VND20,000-VND30,000 each.
Yesterday afternoon, the Department of Industry and Trade of Ca Mau Province said that in Song Doc town, there were three small petrol stations that ran out of petrol locally.
In Long An Province, Ms. Chau Thi Le, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, said that now many petrol and oil enterprises in the province moaned to suffer losses; thus, they temporarily shut their stores.
Meanwhile, Mr. Le Khanh Hung, Director of the Market Management Department of Kien Giang Province, yesterday said that due to the rumor’s information that the prices of gasoline were about to increase following the price adjustment cycle, plus an increase in people flocking to buy gasoline causing a serious shortage of gasoline supply in the province.
Also yesterday evening, in its press release, the Ministry of Industry and Trade affirmed that many petrol and oil retail businesses in cities and provinces such as Ho Chi Minh City, An Giang, Binh Phuoc, and Dak Lak have asked for permission of closing or temporarily suspending their operation. The Ministry of Industry and Trade confirmed that only more than 100 stores closed out of a total of 17,000 operating stores.
