Commodity prices becomes stable after Tet

Food prices drop against the pre-Tet period

Food prices drop against the pre-Tet period

According to the survey done at some markets in the southern province of Dong Nai, all markets have been opened as usual to serve the shopping demands of local residents on January 30, 2009. Even some markets have been opened on the second day of Tet (January 27, 2009). Particularly, Bien Hoa market has been in operation on the third day of Tet with the opening of many market stalls. Almost market stalls has so far been opened as usual. Commodity prices in the markets still have been kept stable or unchanged against the pre-Tet period, even prices of some items drop lower than those on normal days, especially prices of fresh foods.

 Compared to the last years, this is a good news because the commodity prices after the Tet holiday often increase sharply due to the lack of goods in the market. Some small traders will take the advantages of this situation to raise the prices to much higher than the normal prices. Such phenomenon has not mostly occurred this year, the goods at the time being are abundant in the market and their prices are considered to be more stable than the last years. Rice price is from VND8,000 to VND17,000 per kilo; ham VND62,000/kg, pork side VND67,000/kg, baby-back pork ribs VND85,000/kg; farmed chicken VND70,000/kg, chicken VND12,000/kg; fresh beef VND130,000/kg; cabbage VND10,000/kg, tomato VND9,000/kg, waxy pumpkin and broccoli prices stand at VND8,000-9,000/kg, yu choy VND7,800/kg, and water spinach VND8,500/kg, etc. The price of other foods for the Tet holiday (all sorts of Mut – dried fruits, beer, fruits, etc.) has fallen.

Abundant goods but not many shoppers

Purchasing power of consumers is still not high

Since the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, all supermarkets in the province have been opened. Thanks to good implementation of the policy on getting loans to reserve goods in order to stabilize market prices, almost foodstuff companies, supermarkets and business establishments have prepared enough commodities to meet the demands of residents before and after Tet, especially supermarkets of Co.op Mart, Vinatex Mart, and Big C. Some cosmetic products and clothing and still stand at promotion price before Tet. Food prices in supermarkets and foodstuff companies remain stable compared to those on normal days, and prices of some products such as pork, chicken and vegetable decline against pre-Tet and drop by 5-10% lower than those in markets. There are now not many shoppers at Co.op Mart Supermarket of Bien Hoa City, Mr Trang Phuc – head of the marketing department said. The reason is that local residents went shopping to store foods before the Tet holiday, thus the current shopping demand of consumers is not high. It is forecasted that the purchasing power will gradually surge again in mid-February. 

 Reported by N. Thuong, Translated by Minh Minh