Nearly 20% of HCMC gasoline stations face shortage

The shortage is more severe in outskirt districts like Cu Chi, Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh, Binh Tan and 12, where many retailers comprise family businesses and are not part of a big chain, director of the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade Bui Ta Hoang Vu told a meeting Tuesday.

A station in District 12 closed from Monday after delayed delivery saw it run out of inventory.

A station on Thong Nhat Road in Go Vap District has only operated in the afternoon and evening in the last several days.

Some other stations in Thu Duc City were either closed or limited each customer to a purchase of VND30,000 ($1.21).

A leader of a retailer with 12 stations in HCMC said its distributors do not have enough inventory to deliver.

"We receive only 50-60% of the normal amount. Many stations of ours are empty," the person said.

The shortage seems to have become more severe than last Thursday when an official said up to 10% of HCMC stations had temporarily run out of fuel.

One of the reason for the decline in supply is that Xuyen Viet Oil, a major southern supplier, has seen its license revoked for failing to meet official infrastructure requirements. This company typically imports and sells 100,000 cubic meters of fuel to the market, said Vu.

Another challenge is that retailers are still drawing low commissions and are therefore suffering losses, he said, adding that he hoped the Tuesday price hike would help increase commission among these companies.

Around 75% of suppliers in HCMC are private companies and the rest state-owned, which is in contrast with Hanoi and other localities where state-owned suppliers are the majority, he added.