Expected to sell only E10 gasoline from 2026, how is the Ministry of Industry and Trade preparing?

(Dan Tri) - The Ministry of Industry and Trade plans to supply E10 gasoline nationwide from January 1, 2026. However, to completely replace mineral gasoline, Vietnam needs to overcome major challenges in technology, market and policy.

At the workshop on biofuel development in the new era organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on August 27, Mr. Nguyen Hong Dien - Minister of Industry and Trade - said that up to now, E10 gasoline has been provided on a pilot basis in some big cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong and initially recorded positive attention from consumers.

Key enterprises such as Petrolimex , PV Oil, Saigon Petro... are ready with blending and distribution infrastructure, ensuring a synchronous supply of E10 gasoline from January 1, 2026 nationwide.

However, the Minister said that to realize the goal of developing biofuels to completely replace mineral gasoline, it is necessary to overcome major challenges in technology, policy and market. At the same time, the domestic biofuel production capacity is still limited, currently only meeting about 40% of demand, the rest must be imported from the US, Brazil and international partners.

This poses an urgent need to expand raw material areas, increase ethanol production capacity, and build strong and feasible mechanisms and policies to encourage production, import, and strategic reserves of biofuels.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien affirmed that biofuel is a strategic solution for a green economy (Photo: Can Dung).

Dr. Dao Duy Anh, Deputy Director of the Department of Innovation, Green Transformation and Industrial Promotion (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that biofuel (E5 biofuel) has been introduced to the market since 2018.

However, up to now, E5 RON92 gasoline consumption has decreased sharply, only accounting for 21% of the market share (in 2024). Some provinces and cities such as Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi recorded that E5 RON92 sold accounted for less than 20% of gasoline consumption.

"One of the biggest difficulties in developing and consuming biofuel today is consumer psychology. Many people are still hesitant about the quality of this fuel, especially when used for new vehicles, motorbikes and high-end cars," he said.

Besides, Mr. Dao Duy Anh said that the price difference between E5 RON92 and RON 95 gasoline only fluctuates around 400-800 VND/liter, the reduction is not attractive enough to encourage people to switch to using it.

In terms of policy, financial mechanisms, tax incentives and credit support for biofuels are still limited and have not created strong motivation for businesses and consumers...

"In particular, up to now there has not been a widespread, unified communication campaign, leading to consumers misunderstanding the engine compatibility and safety of E5 and E10," said the leader of the Department of Innovation, Green Transformation and Industrial Promotion.

Two domestic oil giants have started pilot sales of E10 gasoline since August 1 (Photo: Thanh Thuong).

Mr. Gabriel Ho, Global Green Fuels Center, said that Vietnam's fuel supply chain is at a key transition stage as the government prepares to switch from E5 gasoline (5% ethanol) to E10 gasoline (10% ethanol) nationwide.

Therefore, ensuring distribution infrastructure that can handle large-scale ethanol imports and blending is critical to the successful rollout of E10.

This transition requires assessing and upgrading ports, terminals and storage facilities across the North, Central and South to be ready for ethanol deployment. Both state-owned networks (Petrolimex, PV Oil) and private facilities play an important role in ethanol import, storage and blending.

From the perspective of the implementing enterprise, Mr. Nguyen Quang Dung - Deputy General Director of Petrolimex - said that during the pilot implementation of selling E10 gasoline, the enterprise has not recorded any feedback from consumers about the quality of E10 gasoline.

Mr. Dung proposed to regulate the environmental protection tax rate on 1 liter of bio-fuel sold. In addition, he proposed to adjust the tax rate on base gasoline for blending bio-fuel to 7%.

"It is recommended that the joint ministries develop a plan to calculate and issue business cost norms for E10 gasoline to ensure full reflection of expenses and to encourage petroleum traders to participate in the production and trading of E10 gasoline," he proposed.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/du-kien-chi-ban-xang-e10-tu-2026-bo-cong-thuong-chuan-bi-ra-sao-20250827114554446.htm