Businesses participating in Ho Chi Minh City’s price stabilization program carried out their pledges to reduce the prices of eight essential commodities on the initiative’s opening day June 21.
The eight commodities include rice, sugar, cooking oil, red meat, poultry, poultry eggs, fruits and vegetables, and processed foods.
Participating companies have received interest-free loans from the city in order to cut the specific goods’ prices by 10 percent from normal market prices.
Ho Chi Minh City has spent nearly VND381 billion (US$20 million) on loans for the program that aims to stabilize prices through March 31, 2011.
According to records obtained by Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper, Co.opMart Supermarket chain led the charge.
For at least two days prior to the program, the supermarket had finished preparing nearly 10,000 tons of food and foodstuffs to provide consumers at reduce costs. All the eight commodities in the stabilization program were then labeled with new prices on June 21.
However, many residents didn’t know about the program and sales were not high initially, said Le Quang Thuc Quynh, marketing manager of Saigon Co.op said. For vegetables and fruits, purchasing power increased by 15 percent, she said.
Together with Saigon Co.op, Vissan meat sellers also lowered prices in line with the price stabilization program.
Other businesses have also reduced prices they had registered, but have yet to advertise the reductions well.
Some businesses like Huynh Gia Huynh De, Phu An Sinh, Ba Huan, Saigon Co.op, Vissan and Satra plan to sell the goods for their new prices at export processing zones, industrial zones and remote areas.
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