Price of foodstuff falls on back of ample supply

The prices of foodstuff has dropped this month due to an abundant supply, many provincial officials have said.

This month, the prices of many processed foods, beef and chicken have remained stable while that of pork has dropped at many localities, according to price and market management authorities under the ministries of Finance and Industry and Trade.

In Ha Noi, An Giang Province and Can Tho City, the price of pork has dropped by VND2,000–VND6,000 per kg to between VND54,000-VND55,000 per kg.

In Hau Giang and Tien Giang provinces, the prices of various kinds of pork have fallen VND1,000–VND3,000 per kg.

In Ha Noi and Phu Tho Province, the prices of chicken and duck eggs have also dropped by VND1,000–VND2,000 per 10 eggs.

In addition, the prices of many kinds of vegetables in HCM City, Ha Noi and Bac Giang Province have dramatically fallen compared to last week’s prices.

The prices of vegetables like cabbage, tomato, China squash and others have dropped by VND1,000–VND2,000 per kg.

Rice prices have remained stable in northern provinces and started going down in southern provinces like An Giang and Hau Giang provinces, after many weeks of rising price.

Nguyen Thi Yen Nga, a housewife in Ward 6 in Binh Thanh District, told Viet Nam News that the price of various kinds of pork had dropped by VND5,000–VND10,000 per kg, especially the price of loin pork, which dropped by VND20,000 per kg.

According to Sai Gon Tiep Thi (Marketing Sai Gon) newspaper, the price of pork has decreased by VND20,000 per kg to VND95,000–VND100,000 per kg.

It quoted Thu Thuy, a small trader at District 1′s Tan Dinh market, as saying that the number of customers had increased because of lower pork prices.

The price of refined sugar from Thailand at many markets in HCM City had dropped to VND18,000 from VND23,000 per kg.

The price of sea fish and river fish had dropped by 5 per cent to 10 per cent, or by VND2,000–VND10,000 per kg.

Prices were either cut or kept stable on other essential items, whose prices increased significantly during the second half of April.

For instance, the price of cooking oil now stands at VND39,000–VND40,000 per litre after it had increased dramatically.

According to the newspaper, the pork price at Tan Xuan agricultural product wholesale market in Hoc Mon District drops due to the increase in supply.

The supply of pork in Tan Xuan wholesale market is about 4,000 pigs per day, while demand is only 3,700 pigs per day.

Similarly, the supply of aquatic products at Binh Dien wholesale market is about 1,600 tonnes per day while demand is 1,750 tonnes per day, which has caused prices to drop.

Nguyen Tan Phuong, director of Dong Nai Food Factory, said that pork was now very abundant, pulling down the price.

According to many owners of pig farms, the price of pork must remain at least VND50,000 per kg to ensure profit and revenue for pig raisers. If they continue to lower the price under this range, they will incur losses.

Thanh Ha, deputy director of Tam Binh wholesale market in Thu Duc District, said traders must cut prices of many foodstuff to attract more customers. Otherwise, demand would be low and the traders would suffer losses as food reached its expiration date. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam food prices