Anti-inflation foods yet to lift prices

Vietnamese food company Vissan starting April 1 will raise the prices of fresh and processed foods although those items are under a government subsidization program and as such, should remain stable in price.

It says the suggested hike is due to rising input costs of fuel and electricity that have surged by up to 24 percent and 15.28 percent, respectively.

The company earlier raised on average 15 percent the prices of foods that are not subsidized by the stabilization fund. The fund was set up by Ho Chi Minh City authorities to help prevent price hikes.

It will continue to increase the prices by another 10 percent in mid-April if the input costs stay as high, Van Duc Muoi, general director of the firm said, adding its food prices will not be slashed even if material prices go down.

Vissan is one of the companies in the southern hub to register to join the city’s price stabilization campaign intended to control prices and contain inflation.

Prices have risen in the country following such economic incidents as an 8.5 devaluation of the dong against the dollar on February 11, a hike in fuel price almost two weeks later, volatile dong-dollar exchange rates, swinging gold prices, a surge in power fees earlier this month, and tightened fiscal and monetary policies experts claim could result in lower commodity production output.

A stable macro-economy is now Vietnam’s top priority after last year’s 6.78 percent economic growth at the expense of a pretty high 11.75 inflation rate.

Tags: Vissan