VINACHEM

The sales manager of Saigon Petro Company, Tran Minh Ha, said that E5 gasoline marketing needs to be boosted, the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) reported.

The price for a liter of E5 (petrol containing five percent ethanol) is the same as A92 gasoline, noted Ha. Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN) fears that customers will hesitate to purchase E5 because they do not understand its benefits.

Relevant agencies should educate consumers about E5 before it becomes available in Quang Ngai, Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, HCM City and Can Tho beginning December 1, said Nguyen Xuan Thuy, director of the Department of Industry and Trade in Quang Ngai province.

The E5 blend will be used nationwide starting December 1, 2015. Quang Ngai province, the pioneer for distribution of the blend, will supply stations with the fuel starting June 1.

The country has seven ethanol production plants, producing 535 million liters per year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This is enough to allow for the production of blends of E5 and E10 gasoline in 2014.

Additional plants are under construction to allow for the production of larger quantities of ethanol.

Petrol Vietnam provided only 22,000 cubic meters of gasoline E5 in the market in the last few years. This number accounted for only 1.1 percent of an ethanol plant's capacity.

Three out of 10 petrol wholesale companies have sold the E5 blend at 170 of 12,000 stations throughout the country. Stations with the blend include PV Oil, Petec, and Saigon Petro.

Consumption of the E5 blend was not as popular as expected in 2007, when it was released into the market.