Petrol stations still run out of gasoline

The ministries of Industry and Trade and Finance decided to adjust retail gasoline prices in the domestic market as of 3 p.m. on February 21. Accordingly, the price of RON95 gasoline is VND26,287 per liter, up VND965 per liter; diesel oil is VND20,801 per liter, up VND936 per liter; kerosene is VND19,509 per liter, up VND758 per liter; fuel oil is VND17,932 per kg, up VND273 per kg.

Some gas stations overloaded, some out of gasoline

In Ho Chi Minh City, specifically, at Tay Nam petrol station in Hoang Van Thu Street in Phu Nhuan District, Hiep Que petrol station in Au Co Street in Tan Binh District, or the petrol station No.18 in Quang Trung Street in Go Vap District, customers can enter the gas stations to buy gasoline freely and easily. The scene of waiting and buying gasoline in a limited volume no longer happened.

Most of these gas station owners said that after the petrol prices climbed, distributors informed that although gasoline supply was not as abundant as before if retailers ran out of stock, they would arrange to supply them. “The distributor commits that if we are out of stock, we just need to make a phone call, and the distributor will provide gasoline immediately to serve customers promptly. We feel reassured,” said the representative of Tay Nam gas station. Meanwhile, at Bien Khoa petrol station in Pham Van Chieu Street in Go Vap District, where the market surveillance force checked on February 20, there were still two large notice boards placed in front of the gas station, reading “out of gasoline".

“We invested money in the gas station, why don't we want to sell? Yesterday, the market surveillance force came to check and saw that we clearly ran out of gasoline. Up to now, although the gasoline prices were adjusted up, we have not received any information from the distributor, so we do not have gasoline to sell,” the manager of the gas station bitterly said. In contrast, not far away, Gia Dinh petrol station in Pham Van Chieu Street in Go Vap District was crowded with customers waiting to fill up.

“Our gas station is overloaded because we are on the same route, but Bien Khoa gas station is out of stock, so customers have flocked here. At present, the distributor still supplies our station with about 50 percent of the gasoline supply compared to normal days. Normally, today the price increases, tomorrow morning the distributor will announce the allocation of higher supply,” said Dat, the gas station’s manager. Through research, some petrol stations do not have a supply at the moment due to loss of credibility with distributors or violations in the business process that are whistle-blown by the authorities.

On the afternoon of February 21, the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade said that it had been drastically implementing the previous instructions. Particularly, it focused on coordinating with relevant agencies, such as the Market Surveillance Department, the Department of Information and Communications, the People's Committees of districts, and petrol enterprises to promote solutions to ensure sufficient and continuous supply of petroleum products in the city.

In Binh Phuoc Province, before fuel prices increased, it was recorded that at Tien Thanh petrol station of Dong Hai Company Limited - Military Region 7 in Dong Xoai City, the station opened its doors ajar to fill up for a four-seater car. Right after that, three motorbikes also pulled over to fill up gas, but all were refused. The manager of this gas station said that the gasoline being poured for the car was sent by the provincial military headquarter. The gas station’s gasoline was already sold out. Viet Huynh Nga - Thuan Phu petrol station, located on DT 741 Road in Thuan Hai Hamlet in Thuan Phu Commune in Dong Phu District, only operated in moderation. This petrol station has five gas pumps, but only three works. The station staff has put up a fence to restrict customers from entering the gas station to fill up. After the gasoline price adjustment, at 4.45 p.m., the Tien Thanh petrol station still closed and hung the "out of gas" signboard. Meanwhile, the Viet Huynh Nga - Thuan Phu petrol station only sold gasoline for motorbikes but not for cars, and each person could only buy VND50,000 of gasoline. In Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, before the time when gasoline prices increased, some gas stations in Vung Tau City stopped operations and announced that they ran out of stock. Specifically, petrol station No.19 at No.15 Tran Hung Dao Street in Ward 1 said it sold out all types of gasoline and temporarily stopped selling gasoline. Petrol station No.3 in Pham Hong Thai Street in Ward 7 said it sold out A95 gasoline, but other petrol products remained available.

At petrol station No.2 at No.205 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street in Ward 3, before 3 p.m., many customers came to buy gasoline, but the staff did not sell and asked them to come back after 3 p.m. because the gas station was adjusting technical parameters. It was recorded that after 3 p.m. on the same day, petrol station No.19 still ceased gasoline sales, while petrol station No.3 still sold gasoline but put up the signboard, reading “out of A95 petrol”.Businesses face difficulties, fishing vessels stay ashore Although petroleum products are not scarce, and there is no situation of hoarding goods to wait for gasoline price to increase, the high gasoline prices make many businesses face difficulties. Mr. Tran Quoc Dung, CEO of Kien Hung Seafood Export Joint Stock Company in Kien Giang Province, said after the recent increase of over VND800 per liter in petrol prices, this unit had to spend more than VND400 million for containers of goods that had been signed export contracts earlier. The transportation sector also encounters difficulties. Mr. Tran Van Binh, living in U Minh Thuong District in Kien Giang Province, said that his company had 15 trucks specializing in transporting shrimp and fish from Kien Giang to HCMC. Increased oil prices have forced him to raise freight rates for traders. To make up for this, traders force farmers to lower selling prices, which means that farmers fully take the hit. Many fishing vessels are lying ashore at some fishing ports in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province. Specifically, at Cat Lo Port in Ward 11 of Vung Tau City, 70-80 fishing vessels do not go out to sea, and at Tan Phuoc Fishing Port in Phuoc Tinh Commune in Long Dien District, hundreds of fishing vessels stay ashore.

Nguyen Van Sau, a fisherman in Phuoc Tinh Commune, said that after the Lunar New Year, many fishing boats did not go to sea because they lacked crew members, and some had not equipped with cruise control devices. However, the main reason was that high fuel prices caused the cost of fishing trips to increase sharply. Fishers were afraid of losses, so they did not go out to sea. Currently, the number of fishing vessels inshore is 3,063. Of which, 880 are engaged in offshore fishing, and the rest is for inshore fishing, entering and leaving ports during the day. Mr. Truong Van Ngu, Chairman of Rach Gia City Fisheries Association, also said that the high oil price made several members whine. For each 20-day sea trip, a pair of dredger fishing boat costs at least VND30 million more. Oil prices climb while fishing grounds are exhausted, and fish prices are squeezed by traders to compensate for transportation costs. Presumably, all losses fall on fishers.