The lowered petrol prices since April 1 have not been enough. (Photo nhandan.vn)Retail petrol prices fell by more than 1,000 VND per litre following the latestadjustment by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance.Accordingly, the retail price of RON95 bio-fuel dropped by 1,039 VND to amaximum of 28,153 VND (1.23 USD) per litre, while E5RON92 wasadjusted down by 1,021 VND to no more than 27,309 VND per litre.
Meanwhile, diesel 0.05S went up from 1,447 VND per litre to 25,080 VND, andkerosene increased by 1,519 VND per litre.
According to the ministry, this was the second decline following sevenconsecutive hikes in petrol prices in 2022 that caused price increases ofover 6,500 VND per litre.
“If the environmental protection tax stayed the same, the domestic gasolineprice in this operating period would have increase,” a ministryrepresentative said.
Vu Tuyet Hanh, a representative of Cuong Thang TransportCompany, specialising in transporting goods on the North-South route,said: “Transport enterprises expect gasoline prices to dropmore as the adjustment in petrol and oil prices does nothelp reduce the burden on enterprises. The transport businesscontinues to face difficulties. Many vehicles have had to stop working.”
Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, director of Kim Phat Transport Company, said:“Fuel for container trucks usually accounts for about 40 percent ofthe cost of transportation. But from mid-2021, the oil price has increased byabout 50 percent, and businesses cannot increase freight rates by thatlevel.”
Other transport enterprises said if freight ratesincreased sharply, they would undoubtedly lose customers, but ifthey didn’t they would continue to lose money.
Nguyen Hong Dong, a driver on the Hanoi - Noi Bai route, saidthat “Currently, the price of gasoline is high, and my incomeis less. I will lose customers if I raise the price.Some of my colleagues have had to give up drivingtheir cars and stay at home because their income is not enoughto cover expenses.”
Bui Danh Lien, an expert at the Hanoi TransportAssociation, said the association’s businesses were worried gasolineprices were still too high.
“More cars are in the parking lot, and companies are forced to reduceroutes and trips. If gasoline prices continue to stay high, transportenterprises will not be able to hold out,” he said.
“The impact from the COVID-19 pandemic has brought businessesto a standstill, with no revenue, while the cost of driving tests and petrolincreased sharply recently, leaving them struggling to survive.”
Lien said many businesses would be forced to sell cars or even gobankrupt.
The aviation industry is also in a bind because of soaring fuel prices.Vietnam Airlines calculates that if the price of jet fuel remains at 130 USDper barrel for the whole of 2022, the airline’s cost could increaseby 5.7 trillion VND. If a barrel goes up to 160 USD asforecast, costs will rise to 9.12 trillion VND, exacerbating the expectedloss in 2022.
Experts said sea freight rates to the US and European routes, which increasedagain from the beginning of the year, were expected to go up again, causingVietnamese import-export businesses to struggle.
Duong Ngoc Trung, deputy general director of SDS - MP Logistics, said the priceof petrol had increased by 30 percent from last year, raising transportationcharges another 5-10 percent.
Economists said petroleum products were currently subject to many taxessimultaneously. While petrol is not a luxury good, it still has tobear excise tax.
Economist Ngo Tri Long said it was advisable to reduce the specialconsumption tax on petrol again to ease inflationary pressure andavoid impacting people and businesses further.
Expert Dinh Trong Thinh said the special consumption tax should be leviedon harmful goods and services and luxury goods, not on petrol, anessential commodity. Moreover, petrol was already subject to anenvironmental protection tax.
Director of the MoIT’s Domestic Market Department Tran Duy Dong said thatif petrol prices continued to rise, it would consider reducing the specialconsumption tax.
“We still need to calculate longer and have more scenarios,” Dong said.“The ministry will propose a scenario to continue to reduce taxes onpetrol, such as the environmental tax, special consumption, VAT and diversificationof supply./.
VNA
