Bio-fuel will be sold in all cities and provinces of Vietnam next year, said a Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) official.
Duringan online dialogue on promoting consumption and the use of bio-fuel E5,Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung said large petroldealers, including Petrolimex and PV Oil, have prepared facilities forselling 5 percent bio-ethanol (E5) fuel in seven provinces and citiesbeginning in 2014.
These areas include Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City,Hai Phong, Da Nang, Can Tho, Quang Ngai and Ba Ria Vung Tau. Further,the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) will begin sellingbio-fuel E5 RON 92 in the central province of Quang Ngai as of September1 this year, three months earlier than in other provinces and cities.
E5RON 92, which is made up of unleaded gasoline and 4 to 5 percentethanol, will replace the traditional Mogas 92, as all petrol stationsin Quang Ngai will sell E5 RON 92 and Mogas RON 95.
Based uponthe draft from 2012, compiled by the MoIT to submit to the Government,the selected seven cities and provinces were to sell E5 as of 2013,though the initial schedule was delayed one year because of consumerhabits and due to demand for bio-fuel on the domestic market being low,he said.
Additionally, bio-fuel plants have not operatedefficiently and had not actively invested in obtaining materials, saidHung, adding that the state has not had mechanisms to encourageenterprises to enter the domestic bio-fuel market.
To date,three out of 10 petrol dealers are selling bio-fuel products at 169petrol stations, out of 13,000 petrol stations throughout the country.Further, consumption of bio-fuel is estimated to be one-eighth of theconsumption of traditional fuel products.
One of the maindifficulties that have prevented enterprises from investing in bio-fuelstations is the high investment for converting petrol stations toselling bio-fuel products, said Nguyen Sinh Khang, Deputy Director ofNational Oil and Gas Group (PetrolVietnam). So, the price of bio-fuelremains a few hundreds Vietnamese dong per litre higher than the priceof traditional petrol products.
Therefore, Khang said theGovernment and the MoIT should have long-term policies for enterprisesinvesting in selling bio-fuel, including exemption of import taxes forequipment and material that domestic enterprises have not yet produced.
Thestate should also consider exempting environmental taxes and fees forpetrol, when used to process E5 bio-fuel products and reduce specialconsumption taxes for bio-fuel when selling it on the domestic market,Khang said.
According to the MoIT, production costs of E5bio-fuel are not lower than production costs of traditional petrol,because of the high investment for petrol stations selling bio-fuel.But, over a long period, bio-fuel could compete with traditional petrolproducts because of the low price of cassava, which is the material usedin processing bio-fuel, and preferential policies on tax and fees bythe Government.
Regarding the ability of producing bio-fuel, theministry said the nation has six plants producing bio-fuel, with acapacity of 535 million litres of ethanol per year.
Based upon this capacity, the plants could meet the nation's demand for bio-fuel by 2015.
Currently,the price of E5 RON 92 is the same as the price for traditional RON 92,based on market rules, though the Government would consider supportthough taxes and fees for bio-fuel, Hung said.-VNA
Duringan online dialogue on promoting consumption and the use of bio-fuel E5,Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung said large petroldealers, including Petrolimex and PV Oil, have prepared facilities forselling 5 percent bio-ethanol (E5) fuel in seven provinces and citiesbeginning in 2014.
These areas include Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City,Hai Phong, Da Nang, Can Tho, Quang Ngai and Ba Ria Vung Tau. Further,the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) will begin sellingbio-fuel E5 RON 92 in the central province of Quang Ngai as of September1 this year, three months earlier than in other provinces and cities.
E5RON 92, which is made up of unleaded gasoline and 4 to 5 percentethanol, will replace the traditional Mogas 92, as all petrol stationsin Quang Ngai will sell E5 RON 92 and Mogas RON 95.
Based uponthe draft from 2012, compiled by the MoIT to submit to the Government,the selected seven cities and provinces were to sell E5 as of 2013,though the initial schedule was delayed one year because of consumerhabits and due to demand for bio-fuel on the domestic market being low,he said.
Additionally, bio-fuel plants have not operatedefficiently and had not actively invested in obtaining materials, saidHung, adding that the state has not had mechanisms to encourageenterprises to enter the domestic bio-fuel market.
To date,three out of 10 petrol dealers are selling bio-fuel products at 169petrol stations, out of 13,000 petrol stations throughout the country.Further, consumption of bio-fuel is estimated to be one-eighth of theconsumption of traditional fuel products.
One of the maindifficulties that have prevented enterprises from investing in bio-fuelstations is the high investment for converting petrol stations toselling bio-fuel products, said Nguyen Sinh Khang, Deputy Director ofNational Oil and Gas Group (PetrolVietnam). So, the price of bio-fuelremains a few hundreds Vietnamese dong per litre higher than the priceof traditional petrol products.
Therefore, Khang said theGovernment and the MoIT should have long-term policies for enterprisesinvesting in selling bio-fuel, including exemption of import taxes forequipment and material that domestic enterprises have not yet produced.
Thestate should also consider exempting environmental taxes and fees forpetrol, when used to process E5 bio-fuel products and reduce specialconsumption taxes for bio-fuel when selling it on the domestic market,Khang said.
According to the MoIT, production costs of E5bio-fuel are not lower than production costs of traditional petrol,because of the high investment for petrol stations selling bio-fuel.But, over a long period, bio-fuel could compete with traditional petrolproducts because of the low price of cassava, which is the material usedin processing bio-fuel, and preferential policies on tax and fees bythe Government.
Regarding the ability of producing bio-fuel, theministry said the nation has six plants producing bio-fuel, with acapacity of 535 million litres of ethanol per year.
Based upon this capacity, the plants could meet the nation's demand for bio-fuel by 2015.
Currently,the price of E5 RON 92 is the same as the price for traditional RON 92,based on market rules, though the Government would consider supportthough taxes and fees for bio-fuel, Hung said.-VNA
