In the afternoon of January 28, stores on Hai Thuong Lan Ong street (District 5) and Thap Muoi Street (District 6) were bustling with work. As the prices here have been more reasonable, customers after customers were joyfully choosing decoration items for their houses at the upcoming Tet.
A similar busy atmosphere can be found in wholesale markets around the city like An Dong Market (District 5) and Binh Tay Market (District 6). Popular Tet food such as dried shredded squid at VND280,000 (US$11.4) per kilo, pumpkin seeds at VND140,000 ($5.7 a kilo), sunflower seeds at VND90,000 ($3.7 a kilo), cashew at VND260,000 ($10.6 per kilo) are hot-sellers.
A seller of sugar-coated fruits and confectionery items in Binh Chanh District shared that the purchasing power in her store for the last two days has risen by 2-3 times and she has to take 100kg more of merchandise from Binh Tay Market, which is quite unexpected. She reasoned that this increase might be because more people have decided to stay in HCMC this Tet instead of coming back to their hometown.
The HCMC Department of Industry and Trade reports that an abundant volume of produce at stable prices in wholesale markets is ready to serve the needs of the city dwellers and neighboring areas. About 40 percent of fresh flowers, vegetables, and fruits entering Thu Duc wholesale market are from Lam Dong Province, some even enjoying a price drop compared to this time last year.
The above department estimates that the total amount of goods available in the three major wholesale produce markets of Binh Dien, Hoc Mon, and Thu Duc comprises 70 percent of the city’s demand (at 800 tonnes of livestock and poultry, 1,200 tonnes of seafood, and 5,600 tonnes of vegetables per day). At present, 45 suppliers are in charge of distributing essential food at Tet.
Around supermarkets and department stores in HCMC, the purchasing power has also witnessed remarkable growth. MM Mega Market has increased its stock by 20-30 percent to ensure a stable supply and price range during the Tet holiday, along with attractive promotional campaigns. It operates from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. each day. Saigon Co.op is running the scheme ‘Coming to Co.op – Bringing Tet home’ in 800 of its branches nationwide. It is enjoying an order rise of 50 percent compared to normal days.
Deputy Director Nguyen Nguyen Phuong of the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade informed that the businesses taking part in the market stabilization program have guaranteed not to increase the prices of their merchandise during Tet. The amount of stabilized goods accounts for 25-43 percent of the goods supplied to the market.
He added that his department is closely cooperating with relevant interdisciplinary functional agencies and the local authorities to monitor the market to eliminate unreasonable price increases of essential commodities. Any detected cases will be severely punished.
