Vietnam’s fuel subsidies getting in the way of E5’s viability

In Vietnam, local press reports that on top of falling demand for E5 over the past 18 months whereby stations find it hard to justify storing and selling the fuel when only a few hundred liters per month are sold, it’s become even less viable due to rising oil prices that kick in the government’s price stabilization subsidies so that retailers make more money selling pure fossil fuel rather than 5% ethanol blended fuel. Consumers are still concerned about the fuel’s quality so even an 8-cent per liter discount for E5 isn’t enough to make them make the switch.