Vietnam’s latest increase in biofuel sales reflects more than short-term demand movement. It marks a stronger execution phase in the country’s transport fuel policy, as Hanoi moves from the older E5 blending framework toward nationwide E10 rollout, with energy security now taking a more central role.
The immediate trigger is concern over volatile global fuel markets and exposure to imported petroleum. At a March 2026 conference on biofuel blending, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Sinh Nhật Tân said Vietnam should accelerate use of biofuel-blended petrol even before the mandatory roadmap takes effect, citing increasingly complex geopolitical developments affecting energy supplies. That framing matters because it shows biofuels are now being advanced not only as a cleaner fuel option, but also as a strategic supply-security tool.
The current policy shift sits on top of a much older regulatory base. In 2012, the Prime Minister issued Decision 53/2012/QD-TTg, which established the roadmap for applying blending ratios of biofuels with conventional fuels. That decision underpinned the country’s earlier ethanol-gasoline programme and the eventual national rollout of E5. At that stage, the policy logic was broader and more developmental: support domestic agriculture, build an ethanol industry, diversify transport fuels and contribute to environmental goals.
In practice, however, the E5 phase delivered only partial market transformation. Vietnam created the legal basis for blending, but consumer uptake remained uneven in RON92 grade gasoline, domestic ethanol production was not always fully utilised, and biofuel penetration remained largely mandate-led rather than market-driven. Biofuels were present in the fuel system, but they were not yet operating as a strategic mainstream fuel.
That changed in 2025. The Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular 50/2025/TT-BCT on 7 November 2025, setting out a new roadmap under which all unleaded gasoline sold in Vietnam must shift to E10 from 1 June 2026, while E5 RON92 can continue to be sold through the end of 2030. This was the clearest regulatory signal yet that Vietnam intended to move beyond the earlier E5 model and make E10 the new national standard.
The policy architecture then tightened further. On 11 December 2025, the Prime Minister issued Decision 46/2025/QD-TTg, repealing Decision 53/2012/QD-TTg with effect from 1 February 2026. This was a significant legal change. It showed that Vietnam was no longer merely extending the 2012 roadmap, but replacing it with a new framework centred on the 2025 circular and related implementation measures.
That implementation push became even clearer in Directive 07/CT-TTg, issued on 26 February 2026, which called for stronger production, blending, distribution and use of biofuels in Vietnam. The significance of this directive lies in its operational emphasis. Rather than relying on the blending mandate alone, the government is now pressing for supply-chain readiness in advance, including ethanol production, storage, blending systems and distribution infrastructure.
That does not remove the practical constraints. Vietnam still needs reliable imported ethanol supply, sufficient feedstock availability, functioning storage and blending infrastructure, and commercial alignment across producers, refiners and fuel distributors. The policy direction is now clearer than it was under the earlier regime, but the success of the transition will depend on whether those supply-side bottlenecks can be resolved at scale.
For the market, the recent rise in biofuel sales is therefore important because it points to a deeper structural shift. Vietnam is moving from an earlier, relatively cautious E5 policy regime into a more assertive E10 rollout backed by updated regulation and a clearer energy security narrative. The previous framework created the pathway. The new one is attempting to make biofuels a more serious component of the national fuel mix.
