From 10 a.m. on October 31, the scene of people waiting in line to buy gasoline happened again in the inner city and the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City. Some gas stations said they ran out of fuel or sold gasoline at a limit.
From the beginning of October to the present, around 9-10 percent of 550 gas stations in the city are facing petroleum supply disruption due to temporary fuel shortages. The reason is that small petrol stations have not got enough storage tanks and depend on suppliers suspended from importing fuel in time.
The Government Office, on October 12, issued an announcement on the conclusion of Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh at a meeting on the management and administration of petroleum products for the domestic market.
After the adjustment of gasoline prices, long lines of motorbikes were still seen at many petrol stations in Ho Chi Minh City to fill their vehicles up.
After the supply disruption has just improved, petrol stations in Ho Chi Minh City have continued to struggle to operate in the context of a discount of almost zero Vietnamese dong in the past few days.
The retail gasoline prices are expected to be adjusted nationwide on September 1. Dozens of retail petrol stations in the provinces of An Giang and Dong Thap have again asked to stop sales temporarily because of losses.
The market management teams under the Market Management Department of HCMC on July 12 discovered many retail petrol stations that have suspended operation after the largest fall in petrol price following the latest adjustment from July 11.
It was recorded that on the afternoon of February 21, after gasoline prices increased by nearly VND1,000 per liter, most petrol stations operated normally. However, some were overloaded, and some faced a local shortage of gasoline.
Representatives of retail petrol stations all confirmed that they did not hoard gasoline to wait for the price to rise to sell because, according to regulations, they must import petrol products to sell, even at a loss, and must sell out before they can close. The authorities will impose a hefty fine if they find there is still fuel in the tank.