Currently, the import price of gas (including taxes) is less than 18,600 VND per kilogram, meaning the cost for a 12 kg cylinder is approximately 223,000 VND. However, the retail price to consumers, ranging from 270,000 to 300,000 VND per cylinder, is considered unreasonably high.
Despite this, regulatory measures have not been implemented in time to control the market effectively.
A recent inspection by the Ministry of Finance at six gas trading companies — including Anpha Petroleum JSC, Northern LPG Company, Southern LPG Company, PV Gas Corporation, Petrolimex Gas JSC, and Gia Đình Trading & Services Co., Ltd — revealed that the domestic gas market has long been left unregulated.
Although the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) has been authorized to establish PV Gas Corporation — the only domestic gas producer and a major supplier to other companies alongside imports — the corporation has failed to stabilize market prices.
In 2007, PV Gas produced 283,913 tons (31.7% of total domestic gas consumption), and in the first half of 2008, 123,458 tons (30%). Despite low production costs (2,391 VND/kg in 2007 and 3,478 VND/kg in early 2008), the company sold gas to distributors only slightly below import prices — about 0.7% lower in 2007 and 0.3% lower in 2008, insufficient to curb retail price hikes.
Furthermore, some companies resold gas purchased from PV Gas to other distributors instead of directly to consumers, pushing retail prices up to import-level rates.
On the import side, about 30 enterprises are involved in gas imports, with 20 regular importers, averaging 30,000 tons per year each. However, the Ministry of Finance found that there is no national plan governing major importers, resulting in too many small-scale enterprises with limited storage capacity — only a few can store over 1,000 tons.
Most import operations are small, fragmented shipments from various suppliers, meaning purchase volumes and prices depend heavily on global gas prices.
Additionally, most importers and distributors lack retail outlets, selling instead through wholesalers, agents, and independent retailers under outright sale contracts. One dealer may represent multiple gas brands, and companies only manage prices to wholesalers, leaving retail prices uncontrolled and entirely market-driven.
As a result, the distribution system is fragmented: each intermediary earns modest profit, but the final consumer price remains high, and gas safety is compromised due to weak oversight at the retail level.
From wholesalers to local agents, the situation becomes even more chaotic. Many wholesalers represent multiple importers and brands and even refill cylinders on behalf of other companies. Most of them do not sell directly to consumers, only distributing to smaller agents, while their storage facilities are small and unstable, leading to frequent price fluctuations.
At the retail level, most agents are individual household businesses selling multiple brands and often without listed prices.
According to the Ministry of Finance’s inspection, the root cause of this disorder lies in the lack of comprehensive legal frameworks governing import, distribution, and domestic gas trading.
Currently, no unified authority manages the licensing and safety standards for gas refilling facilities. There are no clear regulations on investment legality, equipment standards, safety, or technical personnel training. Likewise, the responsibilities for gas quality control and cylinder management remain undefined.
Another key issue is that anyone can import and trade gas without meeting minimum requirements on storage capacity or distribution networks. The absence of LPG storage reserve regulations has also left the market without a clear infrastructure plan.
Moreover, gas traders are not held accountable for the final retail price, while regulatory bodies — such as price management, tax, and market surveillance agencies — have not properly enforced oversight. Consequently, price manipulation, tax evasion, and illegal gas trading remain widespread.
Following the inspection, the Government issued Decree No. 107/2009/NĐ-CP on gas trading management. This decree introduced stricter rules, such as allowing each retailer to represent no more than three brands, and requiring agents to be monitored for pricing and quality by suppliers.
However, experts argue that these new regulations are still rudimentary and lack strong enforcement mechanisms, making implementation difficult. Therefore, the gas market remains as disordered as before.
(Sources: Tiền Phong, Dec 21; Vietnam News Agency, Dec 22; An Ninh Thủ Đô, Dec 21; Công An Nhân Dân, Dec 21)
