Demand – supply of goods plummet steeply

SGGP 24/08/2021 12:57

It was recorded that the retail system in Ho Chi Minh City was quite deserted, with 100 percent of traditional markets and more than 50 percent of retail systems closed, and the number of customers dropping by nearly 100 percent on the morning of August 23 - the first day that HCMC strengthens control on social distancing following Directive No.16.

Demand – supply of goods plummet steeply ảnh 1

Some supermarkets are open but see no customers, or they open for delivery and online sales only. (Photo: SGGP)

At Nga Ba Bau Market in District 12, the only place allowed to open for sale nearly 100 percent of the essential food stalls in HCMC up to this time, there were a few customers in the previous day, but now, the Management Board has put up a barrier around the market and locked the gate.

Similarly, Lotte Mart Go Vap Supermarket in Nguyen Van Luong Street, Co.opmart in Quang Trung Street, and several Co.opfood and Bach Hoa Xanh stores in Go Vap District were also closed.

Demand – supply of goods plummet steeply ảnh 2

Petrol station and convenience store in District 12 are deserted. (Photo: SGGP)

“Our supermarket is told to close for two weeks. Currently, there are only security guards on duty. There will be a new announcement when it reopens," said Trung, a security guard at Lotte Mart Go Vap. Meanwhile, some supermarkets were open but had no customers, or they opened for delivery and online sales only. “From this morning until now, our store has only received five customers, who are checkpoint guards, and no citizens have visited the store. Currently, the amount of goods arrived at the store only accounts for a quarter of that in normal days," said a shopkeeper at Bach Hoa Xanh Supermarket in Nguyen Anh Thu Street in District 12. Not far away, Co.opmart Supermarket set its doors ajar but did not sell goods. According to its staff, the supermarket only packs combo packages that HCMC gives to underprivileged households. Some Co.opfood and Vinmart+ supermarkets in Ward 14 of Go Vap District were also open but to deliver orders placed online only. However, the number of orders was small. Regarding the situation that markets and many supermarkets unexpectedly close at the last minute, while on the afternoon of August 22, the document of the municipal People's Committee still allowed them to open for sale, or even suggested that these systems should increase the number of products and supply, representatives of the departments for Economy of Thu Duc City and districts said that the localities had responded and promptly informed small traders and retailers when the municipal People's Committee changed the plan from the safe zone in which people can go shopping for necessities once a week to the method of grocery shopping service. “Thanks to timely information to small traders and retail systems, markets have canceled the plan of importing goods to sell. Currently, markets and supermarket systems are waiting for the list of goods to be collected through the grocery shopping service. When they receive information about the items registered by people, they will pack them into combos then cooperate with local authorities to deliver goods to each citizen," Mr. Phan Thanh Binh, Deputy Head of the Department for Economy of Phu Nhuan District, said.