According to the newspaper, Vietnam's Ministry of Trade said, "the import volume for next year will be a 10% on year increase." The Ministry also added that the country would no longer provide any subsidies to petroleum importers and that it would no longer determine retail prices at the pump.

"The increase of retail prices for petroleum products from 2004 is unavoidable, and petroleum traders are waiting for the government to announce a preference price, based on which traders can fix their own prices within a 10% band," said the Ministry.