HA NOI — The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has decided to reduce the petroleum import quota for this year to approximately 9.98 million tonnes from the earlier 11 million tonnes.
Among 13 domestic firms eligible for petroleum imports, only Viet Nam Air Petrol Limited Company was allowed to buy an additional 185,000 tonnes from previous 335,000 tonnes.
Nine enterprises were assigned decreased quotas while three other firms maintained their past quota.
The Viet Nam National Petroleum Corp (Petrolimex) received the largest import quota reduction with 459,000 tonnes. It was followed by an affiliate of the Military Petroleum Corp with 300,000 tonnes and MeKong Petroleum Joint Stock Co with 40,000 tonnes.
Despite the import quota reduction, MoIT still requested businesses to well-ensure a regular supply to their distribution networks and maintain a minimum flow reserve.
The domestic real demand for petroleum increased by only 8 per cent this year, far less than the earlier forecast, Deputy Minister Nguyen Cam Tu told online newspaper Vnexpress.
Meanwhile, the Dung Quat oil refinery's better-than-expected production output had also resulted in an adjusted petroleum import quota, Tu said.
Regarding sufficient supply, a higher import quota might result in a larger inventory. This would affect effectiveness of business activities, Tu said. — VNS
