The HCMC Food and Foodstuff Association shared that many of its members have already increased their production to ensure sufficient goods and to stabilize merchant price despite a rise in their overhead cost.
Acecook Vietnam JSC affirmed that it can increase its manufacturing activities by 30-50 percent, reaching 4.5 billion blocks of instant noodle, which satisfies the market demand until the end of 2021. The company guarantees not to rise its product prices to financially aid consumers.
In the group of meat and poultry eggs, member businesses like San Ha Co. and Ba Huan Corp. assert that the commodities are surplus and with stable price. Even though the rice price is quite high at the moment, the stored amount can ensure a static price until the end of this year.
According to Ly Kim Chi, Chairwoman of the HCMC Food and Foodstuff Association, all food enterprises now are under the pressure of material price rise by 30-300 percent. However, in hope of helping the community, particularly those in lockdown areas, to overcome their own financial difficulties during this harsh time, most members of the association have agreed not to increase end-product prices.
Good will as they have, these businesses are at the same time facing trouble since their profits are significantly decreasing while material costs continue to go up, let alone the fee for Covid-19 prevention and control in their manufacturing plants. This makes it challenging for small and medium-scaled enterprises if the Government does not timely provide support.
General Director of Tan Quang Minh Manufacturing and Trading Co. Ltd. Nguyen Dang Hien shared that going through many Covid-19 outbreaks from 2020, most businesses in the food industry have received no supporting package from the Government yet. They are now in dire need of those packages, especially the preferential conditions and interest rate reduction in the loaning process.
With those vital helps, these companies can expand their own manufacturing activities, apply advanced technologies, and use e-commerce to gain more profits from both the domestic and international markets.
Chairwoman Chi said that her association is listing all businesses registering for the capital support as directed by the HCMC Department of Industry and Trading. Yet there is no detailed information on registration conditions or interest rate but the registration form only, which is quite vague.
The HCMC Food and Foodstuff Association suggests that HCMC submit a proposal for the HCMC Branch of the State Bank of Vietnam add members of the association into the list of objects to receive support from the Government (loan interest rate reduction or exemption, loan disbursement acceleration, increase in collateral valuation limit from 70 percent to 85 percent) so that they can store more materials and gain more capital.
Finally, as the Covid-19 outbreak in HCMC is still serious, other provinces tighten their control over transports to and fro HCMC, possibly breaking the supply chain of both materials and end-products. Therefore, the municipal authorities should form ‘quick response team’ to actively aid businesses when there are congestions in goods transportation.
