Goods prices escalating, people have to tighten their belts

The prices of essential goods have been increasing sharply by 10-20 percent, or even 100 percent just over the past few weeks. But the actual income of regular employees does not increase.

Prices on the rise

Nguyen Thi Theu in Ngoc Thuy ward, Long Bien District, said that previously, she spent about 100,000 dong a day for the meals for five members of the family. she now has to spend no less than 130,000 dong a day for the same ingredients. Several hundreds of thousand dong would suffice for some essential goods.

Theu joked that sometimes she thought she must have dropped the money somewhere, because it ran out so quickly. “The problem is the prices have been increasing so rapidly,” she said.

Kim Oanh, 60, a housewife in the central district of Hoan Kiem in Hanoi, said that the prices have been increasing every day. Previously, Oanh regularly went to the small market near her house, where the prices were a little higher than the prices in other places. However, since the prices have been increasing so sharply, Oanh has decided to go farther to Ngo Sy Lien market which offers lower prices.

“I am now living with my son and his family. My son gives me three million dong more a month after he realized that the prices were on the increase. However, even with the additional money, I still have to tighten my belt,” she complained.

The prices of fresh food and vegetables have been rapidly increasing at all markets in Hanoi. Vegetables have become 20-50 percent more expensive, while the meat and fish prices have increased by 5-10 percent due to the short supply caused by the epidemics in the central region.

Big supermarkets in Hanoi such as Co-op Mart, Intimex, have increased the prices of many products since November, including sweets, cosmetics, clothes and household goods, after suppliers announced the 5-10 percent increases in October.

Meanwhile, many big stores on Hang Ma, Kham Thien and Nguyen Thai Hoc streets have warned customers about the price increases of 20-30 percent in days to come.

Traders on a knife-edge

Director of Minh Anh company, a big importer and distributor of sweets, and drinks, said the company had to raise the sale prices by 10-20 percent, after the euro increased to 28,000 dong per euro from 25,000 dong one month ago.

“The imports from Europe have become terribly expensive because producers have raised prices and the euro has appreciated. The Belgian partner has informed us of the 28 percent price increase,” the director said.

Analysts say despite the increase in the prices of sweets and drinks, the demand will not fall, because people will still have to purchase these products as the New Year 2011 and Lunar New Year are nearing, the time to give gifts to bosses and partners.

Meanwhile, the distributors of non-food products complain that the purchasing power is very weak.

The salesman of DigiWorld Shop on Hang Bai street, specializing in trading digital products, said since the dollar price has exceeded the 20,000 dong per dollar threshold, the purchasing power has dropped by 50 percent.

The sharp CPI increase of 1.05 percent in October has raised worries among the public. Dr Vu Dinh Anh, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Finance’s Market and Price Research Institute, said that if Vietnam cannot restrain the CPI in the last two months of the year, the CPI increase in the whole year 2010 would be at two-digit levels, 11 or 12 percent. – Vietnamnet

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Posted by VBN on Nov 11 2010. Filed under Economy News, Retail. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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