Vietnam needs $173.7M annually for petrol reserves

The Ministry of Industry and Trade alongside the Ministry of Finance want the country’s reserves to total nine days of net imports by 2025, and 30 days in the 2026-2030 period, from the current 6-7 days.

However, the state budget can only allocate VND1.5 trillion a year, or nearly a third of the needed amount, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said Tuesday the National Assembly’s Economic Committee, citing a Finance Ministry report.

“Every year, the fund should increase by VND1-2 trillion (equating to 1-2 days of net imports) to bring the total national petroleum reserve to the maximum by 2025,” the minister said.

The thin reserve is one of the problems affecting fuel supplies when markets fluctuate, according to petroleum retailers.

Last year the total petroleum supply was nearly 25.6 million cubic meters, including 8.87 million cubic meters from imports, and 15.7 million cubic meters from local refineries.