In Ba Chieu Market, sited in Binh Thanh District of HCMC, cauliflower price has risen by VND20,000 (US$0.87) to VND60,000 ($2.62) per kilo. Ripe papaya now costs VND22,000 ($0.96) per kilo, while mango costs VND25,000 ($1.09) more than 10 days ago to VND50,000 ($2.18). Gourds used to cost VND10,000 ($0.44) per pack of three, but now one gourd is at VND15,000 ($0.66), an unimaginable rise by 3 times.
“I used to pay VND50,000 ($2.18) of gas for my motorbike to run 3 days. Now with the fuel price rise, even a low-quality lunch pack with only a little meat a vegetables costs VND5,000 ($0.22) more. I’m now considering using my bicycle instead to save money”, said Ngo Thi Lanh – a housekeeper living on To Ky Street of District 12.
Many food shops around HCMC increase their product prices by VND5,000-10,000 ($0.22-0.44). Others keep the same prices but decrease the food amount or do not serve free ice tea rice anymore.
Le Hai from Tan Phu District shared that since his neighborhood consists of households of manual workers, commodities prices here used to be quite reasonable. But now even haircut service increases by VND10,000 ($0.44) per time, saying that the staff wage needs to be up as well.
Khac Nguyen said that normally he catches a Grab car from his house to his workplace at the price of VND68,000 ($2.97). Now he has to spend VND91,000 ($3,98).
A quick check at ticket booths in the East Coach Station yesterday revealed that 25 transport businesses operating on 68 routes have already updated their new increased fares by 26 percent on average. Similarly, 17 transport enterprises in the West Coach Station have proposed a fare rise of 7-8 percent for the routes to the provinces of Tra Vinh, An Giang, Vinh Long, Dong Thap.
Meanwhile, a number of tourism companies reported that their partner hotels and restaurants have adjusted their service fees due to material price increase. Along with a higher transport fare, the price of an all-inclusive tour now rises significantly by 20-25 percent.
In the construction field, important building materials like cement, sand, and brick all have their prices greatly increased by VND7,000 ($0.3), VND40,000 ($1,75), and VND1,300 ($0.06) per unit, respectively. This, in turn, has negatively affected the investments of many construction projects.
The price of popular fertilizers like Urea, DAP, Kali has also increased by VND700 ($0.03) per kilo, a growth of 20 percent compared to the end of 2021, partly due to the fight between Russia and Ukraine.
General Director of Tien Dat Wood Technology JSC. Do Xuan Lap shared that fuel price rocketing leads to higher logistics costs by 25 percent, along with more expensive overhead costs. Obviously, the price of end-products will increase, and the competitiveness as well as sales of domestic products will witness an unavoidable drop.
The HCMC Market Management Authority informed that it has increased monitoring activities over fuel trading, and markets, department stores selling goods at listed prices. It also runs a hotline to receive feedback and report from the public.
At wholesale markets like Binh Dien in District 8, Thu Duc in Thu Duc City, Hoc Mon in Hoc Mon District, commodities prices are quite stable and the supply is surplus. Certain small traders said that the sales of fruit and vegetables are not really strong these days; hence, a price rise will certainly kill trading. For example, the prices of mango, watermelon, gourd, bitter gourd, and pineapple are VND18,000 ($0.77), VND12,000 ($0.52), VND5,000 ($0.22), VND12,000 ($0.52), and VND10,000 ($0.44), correspondingly.
Tiki, a major e-commerce platform in Vietnam, yesterday informed that it will reduce 40 percent of shipping fee, along with regular promotion programs like Freeship+ and Tiki Rewards, to help customers.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade yesterday announced that its Minister has just signed a directive document to ask that the localities in all provinces and cities increase their patrolling activities to timely punish any law violations in fuel trading and price manipulation.
