Along with decreasing fuel prices, the current drop in live hog price has provided food processing enterprises with more chances to approach input sources to obtain sufficient materials for their production plans at this year-end.
Vissan JSC. informed that in the third quarter of this year, it prepared VND700 billion (US$28.8 million) to buy materials for its manufacturing activities for Tet holiday, a rise of 20 percent compared to 2021. It will stock 2,000 tonnes of fresh food (mainly pork) and 4,2000 tonnes of processed food, an increase of 30 percent and 10 percent as opposed to the previous Tet. This will ensure its stable supply to the market and reasonable retail prices.
Ba Huan Co. Ltd., one of the major egg providers of the domestic market, also stated that it will increase 20 percent of its output compared to last year for the upcoming Tet holiday. Participating in the national retail price stabilization scheme, the company needs to actively stock its materials and animal feed in order to offer steady retail egg prices.
Director of Vinh Thanh Dat Co. Truong Chi Thien shared that egg prices will not fluctuate much since the supply is quite surplus. His company can answer 50 percent of consumers’ demands in the last month of the year.
Other food businesses have completed building their livestock farms and associated farms to ensure stable supply sources for the market until the Tet holiday. Many participants in the national retail price stabilization scheme have already sent their price list to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, along with their commitment to maintain static retail prices as well as product quality.
Deputy Director of the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Nguyen Phuong reported that with both opportunities and challenges, the retail revenues of HCMC in the first 9 months this year reached VND446 trillion ($18.3 billion), a rise of 21.1 percent compared to this time last year. Businesses are actively stocking sufficient inventory of diverse kinds to serve local residents. This is a truly positive sign of socio-economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.
This department is maintaining the retail price stabilization scheme, especially for essential commodities like food. It proactively boosts the inter-regional links for material supplies, the establishment of supply chains that are resilient, flexible, and healthy to face unexpected incidents such as natural disasters, epidemics, and unstable global situations.
Simultaneously, it is implementing trade promotion programs and solutions as well as activities for market expansion, activities of industry-specific associations. Connections between credit organizations, banks and needy enterprises are facilitated to address issues related to capital lack during a business’s recovery and startup activities, particularly those in the price stabilization scheme.
It is going to host various year-end shopping stimulus programs like the concentrated promotion campaign in HCMC themed ‘Bustling Spring Shopping’, the supply-demand connection program between HCMC and provinces, the trade fair to promote consumption.
The department will also conduct surveys of market demands to ensure sufficient commodities to serve residents in the upcoming Tet holiday 2023.
The HCMC Department of Industry and Trade informed that in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the coming Tet holiday, the food demands of city dwellers are exceptionally high compared to these times last year. Therefore, the city is preparing thousands of tonnes of food for these special occasions. Particularly, food businesses are stocking over 5,200 tonnes of food, 2,000 tonnes of sugar, 2,300 tonnes of cooking oil, 5,600 tonnes of cattle meat, 8.500 tonnes of poultry meat, 54.4 million eggs, 1,500 tonnes of processed food, 9,200 tonnes of vegetables, 297 tonnes of seafood, and 1,600 tonnes of spices.
Along with sufficient inventory of food enterprises (accounting for 25-32 percent of the demands of local residents), the market management units will closely monitor the market to eliminate any goods speculation and hoarding activities.
