Fuel imports add to trade deficit

The country spent US$976 million on importing 1 million tonnes of refined petrol and oil in August, nearly double both the imported volume and value of the previous month, the General Statistics Office reported.

Meanwhile, the coun-try’s export volume and value of crude oil during the period decreased $14 million over July to $165 million, leaving a trade deficit of more than $810 million during the month.

In the first eight months of the year, imports of petrol and oil reached 7.55 million tonnes, worth nearly $6.89 billion, up 5.7 per cent in volume and 55 per cent in value against the same period last year.

Meanwhile, crude oil exports in the January-August period reached just 1.46 million tonnes, worth $1.34 billion, up 25 per cent in volume and 74.6 per cent in value against the same period last year, and resulting in a petrol and trade deficit of $5.55 billion, the office reported.

Experts said that the country’s first oil refinery Dung Quat, which became operational in 2009, helped to make the country more independent, imports had risen due by 7-10 per cent due to increased domestic demand and a reduction in crude oil exploitation.

Last year’s crude oil exploitation output was 15 million tonnes, against 18.8 million tonnes in 2005.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien expressed concern that crude oil exports had not offset imports of refined petrol and that the trend would continue this year.

Meanwhile, Dung Quat oil refinery has pumped 3.3 million tonnes of refined petrol and oil into the domestic market.

Tags: Vietnam Fuel imports