According to preliminary statistics from the General Department of Customs, in February 2024, Vietnam imported 214,064 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), equivalent to over 143.9 million USD, a decrease of 25.9% in quantity and 28.1% in value compared to the previous month.
Overall, in the first 2 months of the year, Vietnam spent over 344.7 million USD to import 503.1 tons of liquefied petroleum gas from different markets, an increase of 30.2% in quantity and 22.4% in value compared to the same period in 2023. The average import price in the first 2 months of the year reached 685 USD/ton, a decrease of more than 6.5% compared to the same period last year.
Regarding the origin of imported gas products, Qatar is the largest gas importing market, followed by Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Specifically, in February, Vietnamese businesses imported 63,686 tons of LPG from the Malaysian market, with a trade volume of 42.6 million USD, a staggering increase of 1243% in quantity and 941% in value compared to the same period last year.
For the first 2 months, Vietnam spent over 60 million USD to import 87,100 tons of LPG from this country, increasing by 616% in quantity and 523% in value, accounting for over 17% of both volume and import turnover. The average import price from Malaysia is currently around 689 USD/ton, a decrease of nearly 13% compared to the same period in 2023.
Currently, LPG in Vietnam is mainly imported for storage to serve domestic needs such as heating, cooking, industrial use, automobile use, refrigeration, and other low-demand applications like oil refining technology.
Currently, about 60% of domestic gas supply is actively sourced. Therefore, domestic gas prices are dominated and affected by world gas prices.
Starting from March 1st, gas business companies have announced a simultaneous increase in retail gas prices. Specifically, the gas prices of City Petro, Vina Pacific Petro, Vimexco, SP… have been increased by 167 VND/kg (including VAT).
According to gas companies, the world gas import price according to contracts (CP price) for March is officially set at 635 USD/ton, the same as the CP price of the previous month. However, due to the sharp increase in the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Vietnamese currency, up to 24,820 VND/USD, the domestic retail gas prices have been adjusted to increase accordingly.
Since the beginning of the year, retail gas prices have increased for 3 consecutive months. Specifically, gas prices in January increased by 500 VND/kg; February increased by 417 VND/kg, and March increased by 167 VND/kg. On average, each 12kg household gas cylinder increased by over 13,000 VND.
In Asia, gas prices have decreased to the lowest level in nearly 3 years due to weak demand, creating pressure to reduce prices. It is worth noting that while domestic gas prices have continuously increased for 3 months, spot gas prices in Asia have decreased by nearly 30% since the beginning of the year due to decreasing demand and increasing inventory in the East Asian and European markets.
Overall, gas prices in Europe have reached the lowest level in nearly 3 years, with stable gas reserves at high levels and not excessively cold weather during winter. This brings hope that the energy crisis that has plagued the region for the past 3 years may soon come to an end.
