Viet Nam stops regulating kerosene prices from April 29, allowing businesses to set retail prices based on market conditions under a new decree issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on April 28.

The decree removes kerosene from the list of petroleum products subject to State price management under Circular 18/2025/TT-BCT dated March 13, 2025.

Nguyen Thuy Hien, Deputy Director of the ministry’s Domestic Markets Management Department, said that from April 29, enterprises will be responsible for determining kerosene prices.

Kerosene plays a limited role in the domestic fuel mix, accounting for just about 0.1% of total petroleum consumption. She said enterprises have already been allowed to decide prices for several high-grade gasoline products with low market demand.

The ministry said the policy aims to give businesses greater pricing flexibility while allowing regulators to focus on more widely consumed fuels such as petrol and diesel.

Kerosene, a refined petroleum product commonly used as household fuel and in industrial production, has become less widely used in recent years as consumers shift to alternative energy sources.

State-run fuel distributor Petrolimex currently lists kerosene prices at around 32,100 VND (1.26 USD) per litre in major urban areas and 32,740 VND per litre in other regions.