Petroleum imports rise 50% in 2022

By Anh Minh August 22, 2022 | 01:00 am PT

A staff pours gasoline into a bottle at a fuel station in Ho Chi Minh City in February 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Vietnam has imported 5.65 million tons of oil products for US$5.95 billion so far this year, half more than in the same period last year.

Diesel was the top import item, accounting for 3.17 million tons.

South Korea was the top source with 2.17 million tons, up 92% year-on-year, followed by Malaysia (815,000 tons) and Singapore (753,000 tons).

In February, the Ministry of Industry and Trade tasked 10 gasoline distributors with increasing imports in the second quarter to ensure supply, as the Nghi Son Refinery, which meets around a third of the country’s demand, decided not to deliver products in April and May.

Gasoline prices have been adjusted upward 13 times and downward seven times in the year-to-date.

They have fallen the last five times after scaling a historic high in late June to pre-Ukraine conflict levels.

A liter of popular RON 95 gasoline now costs VND24,660 ($1.05) and biofuel E5 RON 92, VND23,720.