A bowl of pho increases by a few thousand VND, a trip is more expensive, and the cost of goods increases slightly... Every time gasoline and oil prices fluctuate, people feel it very clearly. Because gasoline and oil have never been just a story of the energy industry alone, but are input costs of the economy, affecting almost all production and business activities.
In the context of world energy prices continuously fluctuating due to geopolitical factors, Vietnam's decision to reduce a series of gasoline and oil taxes to 0% from mid-April to the end of June is a policy that is both timely and hits the bottleneck. Thanks to that, domestic gasoline and oil prices are "relieved", estimated to decrease by about 5-10% compared to the non-intervention scenario.
This is not just a story of a few thousand VND per liter of gasoline and oil. For transportation or logistics businesses, where fuel costs account for a large proportion, each decreasing VND is part of the pressure removed. When transportation costs cool down, commodity prices also have more stable conditions.
The policy of reducing gasoline and oil taxes also has the meaning of sharing. The State is "carrying" a part of the costs instead of the economy. Key enterprises, gasoline and oil distributors reduce capital pressure, limit risks when world prices fluctuate. Transportation enterprises have more room to maintain freight rates. And people directly benefit when travel costs decrease and prices are less "escalating".
More than that, the policy creates a spreading effect. When input costs are reduced, inflationary pressure is also eased, and purchasing power has a chance to recover. In the context of the economy setting a growth target of over 10%, this is clearly a necessary "push" to maintain the pace of production and consumption, activating growth momentum.
The policy has "divided the fire" at the right time, but to go further, the economy cannot just rely on price reductions, but must switch to using smarter and more efficient energy.
According to the assessment of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Vietnam is still using energy ineffectively. Consumption intensity is about 1.3-1.5 times higher than developed countries, showing that the savings potential is still very large. This also means that if it does not change, energy costs will continue to be a long-term burden.
Therefore, besides tax solutions, solutions are needed to save energy, innovate technology, develop clean energy and gradually reduce dependence on gasoline and oil.
For businesses, the problem is not only to take advantage of reduced fuel prices, but also to restructure to operate more efficiently. For people, change also starts from small things, more reasonable travel, prioritizing public transport, using energy-saving equipment, and gradually switching to electric vehicles.
And an important "link" is market discipline. When gasoline and oil prices have decreased, the prices of goods and services also need to be adjusted accordingly. It is impossible for prices to "follow the tide" when they increase, but when they decrease, they "stand still", pushing the losses to consumers. Only then can the benefits from the policy truly spread to each citizen and business, instead of being "blocked" at intermediaries.
