The Ministry of Industry and Trade will conduct surprise inspections of gas stations to check the quality of E10 gasoline

At the Government press conference on June 3, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan said that the agency is developing a plan to inspect and control the quality of biofuel. The list of units to be inspected has not been announced to ensure the surprise and effectiveness of this activity.

According to leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, biofuel quality testing has been carried out continuously since 2018, when E5 gasoline began to be distributed on the market, and continues to be maintained with E10 gasoline to ensure the fuel meets standards.

Penalties if businesses are found to not ensure quality and E10 gasoline standards include administrative fines, suspension of operations and other measures depending on the severity of the violation.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has issued standards and regulations for biofuels. Therefore, according to the Deputy Minister, mixing fuel without proper procedures and technical regulations needs to be prevented.

“Quality control is carried out at all stages, from production, mixing, transportation, distribution, circulation to the retail system,” Deputy Minister Tan said, affirming that products reaching consumers are strictly inspected and monitored from previous stages.

He also recommended that consumers when using the product need to reflect and evaluate to support fuel quality inspection and control.

Biofuel is a blend of fuel ethanol (bioethanol) and mineral gasoline. The biofuel roadmap was built by the operator many years ago. Since 2018, Vietnam has sold E5 RON92 gasoline nationwide. By August 2025, E10 will be piloted in some localities before expanding nationwide.

From June 1, all mineral gasoline will be mixed with ethanol to become E10 gasoline before being sold on the market. Meanwhile, E5 RON92 gasoline continues to be maintained until the end of 2030.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan affirmed that the conversion to using biofuel gasoline is aimed at the highest benefits for people and consumers.

To protect consumers, he said that one of the important solutions is to receive feedback and complaints from people. Ministries, state management agencies, petroleum businesses, vehicle manufacturers… need to increase the provision of information, respond to feedback and provide technical advice to users.

Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is developing handbooks and question and answer sets to explain and guide people. In addition, information receiving channels will be diversified, including the establishment of an automatic switchboard to receive, answer and update objective information for people.

The Ministry also requires car manufacturers and engine manufacturers to review and re-evaluate the compatibility of their vehicles with biofuel. Car companies have simultaneously announced the results of this assessment. At the same time, the operator requires businesses to continue to guide users, prepare maintenance and repair facilities and prevent technical situations that may arise.

Ethanol demand for E10 blending is currently about 100,000 m3 per month. Of which about 25,000 m3 is produced domestically, the rest is imported. Current mixing capacity basically meets market demand. From the time of trial distribution in August 2025 until now, the price of E10 gasoline has always been several hundred VND per liter lower than mineral gasoline of the same type.