Calculate costs on data from leads
The Government Office recently issued an official dispatch conveying the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on reviewing and adjusting the standard cost item in the basic price of gasoline and oil. Specifically, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Finance to continue reviewing, synthesizing, and compiling statistics on costs related to gasoline and oil trading; proactively considering adjustments according to regulations, ensuring that they are close to market realities and the operations of gasoline and oil trading enterprises in accordance with the direction of the Prime Minister. After the Decree amending and supplementing Decree No. 95 and Decree No. 83 of the Government on gasoline and oil trading is issued, the Ministry of Finance and other ministries and agencies shall comply with the provisions of this new Decree.
Adjusting the cost of petroleum business standards requires consulting data from retail and wholesale stages...
In the adjustment of the standard cost to calculate the base price of imported gasoline applied from November 11, 2022, the Ministry of Finance announced an increase of 5 - 83%, equivalent to 60 - 660 VND/liter/kg compared to before. Specifically, base gasoline for blending E5 RON92 gasoline is 640 VND/liter; RON95 gasoline is 1,280 VND/liter; diesel oil is 730 VND/liter; kerosene is 1,740 VND/liter; mazut is 1,350 VND/kg. The Ministry of Finance proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade study and apply from the period of announcing the base price of gasoline on November 11. These items will be considered and announced by the Ministry of Finance when there is new data from the reports of gasoline and oil key enterprises in the price adjustment periods. Accordingly, according to the announcement dated October 23 from the Ministry of Finance sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, imported RON95 gasoline costs VND860/liter, E5 RON92 gasoline costs only VND280/liter, diesel oil has decreased to VND510/liter, kerosene does not arise and mazut oil costs VND1,330/liter.
Thus, compared to the previous time, the costs of bringing gasoline to Vietnamese ports and the domestic premium costs have decreased significantly. For example, the cost of bringing RON95 gasoline to Vietnamese ports has decreased by more than 33% compared to the end of last year; or the cost of E5 biofuel-blended gasoline to ports has also decreased by more than half compared to regulations. According to Circular 104/2021 of the Ministry of Finance, the standard cost of gasoline trading is the cost of circulating gasoline domestically, including wholesale and retail costs at actual temperatures of gasoline traders (including costs for distributors, retail franchisees, agents, and general agents) to calculate the base price at the maximum level. And this cost is determined based on the report of actual costs incurred by gasoline traders.
Based on the reports of key traders, the Ministry of Finance (Price Management Department) will synthesize, review, evaluate and before July 1 every year, the Ministry of Finance will announce the standard business costs for the Ministry of Industry and Trade to apply and calculate in the basic price formula for gasoline. Updated information on October 20, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has resubmitted a plan to amend and supplement a number of articles of Decree 95 and 83 on gasoline trading. Accordingly, in addition to a series of newly added policies, the draft also proposes the review time for calculating the costs of bringing gasoline back to the country, to ports, and premium from domestic production sources from 6 months to 3 months. The purpose is to update prices and costs for businesses in a more timely manner.
Need additional data from retail
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang, National Economics University, business often has unexpected events, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, when logistics costs increase sharply, the cost of bringing gasoline back to the country must increase. Now that costs have changed, logistics have decreased, interest rates have also decreased, Vietnam's inflation is lower than other countries... it is reasonable to review and adjust these costs in a downward direction compared to the time of change in November 2022. In the past, there was a Hamas - Israel conflict, but this did not affect or cause additional costs to bring gasoline to Vietnamese ports. The cost adjustment needs to be done immediately, applying the base price of gasoline when the revised decree on gasoline trading is approved and takes effect in the near future.
Economist, Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Tri Long said that the proposal to review, review, synthesize, and compile statistics on costs related to petroleum business proposed by the Deputy Prime Minister is very timely. In management, it is extremely necessary to continuously review costs for items priced by the State, in order to ensure that they are calculated sufficiently and correctly for businesses, from wholesale to retail. The formula is fixed, but the data can change, causing the base price to change accordingly. In particular, it is necessary to review which costs should be eliminated because they are currently insignificant, or how to adjust and change types of costs. After the pandemic, costs may increase, but now that they are stable, which steps will be cut... "Costs have changed, so the Deputy Prime Minister proposed a review," he emphasized.
However, Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Tri Long noted: The data that the Ministry of Finance refers to informing the Ministry of Industry and Trade about the standard cost of business needs to be supplemented with data from the retail stage of gasoline. Why only refer to data from the contacts when retail is part of the gasoline distribution system? Second, in order for the revised decree on gasoline trading with many new regulations to move towards a more transparent and competitive market to be effective, it is necessary to amend or stipulate more clearly the standard cost that the retail stage must enjoy in Circular 104. The revised decree does not specify a percentage, but the stages in the business chain need to have fairness in dividing this standard cost.
"In my opinion, the ministries need to sit down with petroleum retailers, petroleum wholesalers, distributors, etc. to discuss and clarify this issue. Don't let a regulation cause one side to lose. There should be a more frank and goodwill discussion. The more discussion, the more transparency, creating a high consensus among businesses from wholesale to retail. Accordingly, the market will be stable and sustainable," Mr. Long proposed.
Adjusting the cost of petroleum business standards and ensuring the harmony of interests between petroleum wholesalers and retailers need more attention.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang , National Economics University
Source link
Comment (0)