Vietnam ethanol producers target overseas markets to offset weak local demand

Vietnamese ethanol producers have decided to look for opportunities to export ethanol product (E5) due to weak domestic consumption. E5 (5% ethanol, 95% petrol) was officially used in Vietnam in the middle of 2010, and was priced at VND500 (US$ 0.024) per liter, cheaper than other traditional products such as A92 and A95. However, it did not gain popularity because local people are still unaware of E5’s economic and environmental advantages, said Le Xuan Trinh, deputy director of PV Oil, the country’s oil-marketing company.
Local authorities have been asked by producers to come up with policies to promote the use of ethanol; the government said it plans to enforce the use of E5 in some cities including Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Danang, Haiphong, Can Tho, Vung Tau and Quang Ngai province next December, and will implement it nationwide from June 1, 2015.
Meanwhile, the Dung Quai bio-ethanol plant in the province of Quang Ngai met with strong public opposition for causing serious environmental pollution and killing fish in the waters nearby, when it ran a trial operation early this year. (October 11, 2012)