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The U.S. Grains Council and the U.S. Biofuels Council (USGBC) led a working delegation to Vietnam to promote ethanol supply as the country prepares to implement a nationwide E10 policy.
In Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, USGBC representatives met with regulators and key fuel distributors to discuss sourcing capabilities. Jay Reiners, Vice President of USGBC, said the mission builds on close cooperation with the USDA to expand international markets for U.S. corn, durum, and barley. He added that USGBC welcomed Secretary Lindberg’s recognition of Vietnam as a growing market for U.S. cereals and co-products, and as a strategic gateway to scale the region for farmers’ products.
The outreach focused on ethanol as Vietnam moves toward implementing E10 for RON 95 gasoline from June. Once in effect, all gasoline in the market will be blended with bioethanol, replacing the prior arrangement that applied only to E5 RON 92 gasoline since 2018.
Industry projections cited by USGBC indicate domestic gasoline consumption could exceed 3 billion gallons per year by 2027, implying demand for about 240 million gallons of fuel ethanol annually.
To prepare for the new regime, the delegation engaged directly with Petrolimex and PVOIL on procurement strategies and practical deployment.
USGBC also referenced a four-party memorandum of understanding signed in 2025, intended to help Petrolimex upgrade technical infrastructure and blending arrangements at higher ethanol concentrations.
In addition, the delegation conducted on-site surveys at Hai Phong International Container Terminal (HICT) to assess logistics capacity and reception infrastructure for imported agricultural shipments.
Beyond energy, the delegation highlighted Vietnam’s role in U.S. agricultural trade. For the 2024/2025 crop year, Vietnam imported more than 1.1 million tons of dried distillers grains (DDGS), making it the world’s third-largest market for the product. Vietnam also remains among the top 10 U.S. corn customers.
At the end of the visit, Chris Markey, Deputy Regional Director for Southeast Asia & Oceania at USGBC, said the agribusiness trade relationship between Vietnam and the United States is expected to strengthen further as Vietnam’s animal-feed sector grows and as E10 is rolled out. He added that the Council stands ready to support the Vietnamese government and industry in expanding protein production, dairy production, and the use of ethanol.
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