(VN Express International) The government continues to miss its targets for the cleaner, cassava-based fuel. State-owned fuel giant PetroVietnam has asked the government for tax support to save its new biofuel business from going bankrupt due to poor consumption.
PetroVietnam said in a statement that it needs exemptions for tariffs on imported equipment, environment and luxury taxes for the cassava-based fuel, as well as reductions to VAT so that it can lower prices to encourage demand.
The company said that while the 5-percent ethanol blended E5 is a new product, high input costs have made it uncompetitive and stopped it from catching on.
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E5 now sells at VND16,290 ($0.73) a liter, cheaper than its fossil fuel counterpart 92-RON, the country’s most popular gasoline grade, by a mere 1.6 percent.
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(M)any gas stations said they are not willing to promote the new fuel or invest in new pumps suitable for E5 since they are afraid of making losses.
This led to the closure of three ethanol factories that were designed to provide more than eight million tons of E5 or more than 90 percent of national gasoline demand. READ MORE