HANOI – Petrol retail enterprises said they would have to cease business in the next few months if relevant policies are not revised.
The volatile fuel market has pushed retailers into difficulties this year and the situation has only worsened in the past two months.
Petrol agents can hardly maintain their business operations under the current circumstances, business executives said at a conference on September 21.
Speaking at the conference, the board chairman of Son Hai Petroleum Joint Stock Company, Nguyen Duc Hanh, said the commission offered by major fuel trading enterprises has dropped since July, ranging from VND50 to VND100 per liter or even no commission at some points.
Petrol retailers have tried to maintain their operations despite losses, he added. Their business licenses will be indefinitely revoked if they shut down.
Vietnam has some 17,000 fuel retailers, 75% of which are small and medium, said a representative of My Bao Company.
“The current mechanism would kill private-owned, small- and medium-sized retail enterprises, thereby posing a challenge to the Government’s target of having 1.5 million enterprises by 2025,” My Bao Company’s representative said.
Le Thi Nha, a representative of Van Phuc Petroleum Company Limited, proposed abolishing the regulation that gas stations can buy fuels from just one distributor, saying that this regulation discourages competition and make life difficult for retailers.
Ngo Trung Son, a representative of Trung Son Petroleum Company, proposed shortening the time limit of the price regulation to three days, including weekends and public holidays.
Hoang Anh Tuan, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s domestic market department, said he would report the opinions of fuel retailers to the competent authorities.
