Gas, food and petrol prices increase, people and businesses struggle to cope

Along with the skyrocketing prices of gasoline, rice, and food in recent months, the increase in gas prices has "dealt an additional blow", making the lives of workers and food service providers very difficult.

Gas prices increase following world prices

Gas suppliers explained that due to the sharp increase in world gas prices, domestic retail gas prices have also been adjusted to increase by 20,000 VND/12 kg cylinder from today (October 1).

A representative of the City Petro brand said that the retail price of gas products of this company will increase by 75,000 VND for 45 kg gas cylinders and 83,000 VND for 50 kg gas cylinders. The retail price to consumers for the company's 12 kg gas cylinder is 464,000 VND after the price increase.

Vietnam LPG Trading Joint Stock Company - PV gas LPG Southern said its gas price will increase by 1,667 VND/kg (including VAT) compared to September.

The continuous increase in gas prices has caused many difficulties for consumers (Illustration photo).

Other gas brands on the market are commonly priced from 410,000 - 470,000 VND/12 kg cylinder, if there is a promotion, the price is lower from 20,000 - 50,000 VND/12 kg cylinder.

The reason for the increase in gas prices is that the world gas price in October closed at 607.5 USD/ton, an increase of 52.5 USD/ton compared to September, so companies adjusted their retail prices accordingly. Thus, gas prices have increased for the third consecutive month after months of decline.

According to businesses, the gas price trend may continue to increase in the last months of the year due to increased demand for fuel reserves for the winter.

Not only gas prices have increased, recently, a series of essential consumer goods such as gasoline, electricity, rice, and food have increased rapidly, making people's lives, which were already difficult, even more difficult.

Specifically, at traditional markets, the price of ordinary rice is usually 12,000 - 14,000 VND/kg; common white rice is 16,000 VND/kg; Nang Nhen rice is 23,000 VND/kg; long-grain fragrant rice is 18,000 - 20,000 VND/kg; Jasmine fragrant rice is 15,500 - 17,000 VND/kg; Huong Lai rice is 19,500 VND/kg; Nang Hoa rice is 19,000 VND/kg; regular Soc rice is 16,000 - 17,000 VND/kg... The price of rice has increased by 2,000 - 3,000 VND/kg since the end of July until now.

Meanwhile, the price of pork has also increased by 20-30% in the past 3 months. Currently, pork butt costs 90,000-95,000 VND/kg, pork loin and belly cost 120,000-130,000 VND/kg, down about 5,000 VND/kg compared to mid-week.

Although pork prices have decreased slightly, due to limited income and economic difficulties, consumers have had to tighten their belts and cut spending, so consumption is quite slow.

Bending to endure

Responding to VTC News, many people and businesses providing food and meals in schools and industrial parks said that the sharp increase in gas prices and previously the increase in prices of gasoline, food such as rice, meat, and fish fillets caused them many difficulties.

Just turning on the gas stove to prepare breakfast for the whole family, Ms. Tran Phuong Dung, a garment worker in Dong Van Industrial Park ( Ha Nam ) said that her family's life was already difficult, now the sharp increase in gas prices has made her very cautious about cooking.

The whole family has been renting a room in Dong Van ward for 6 years now. The couple's income is less than 15 million VND. They are also raising two small children, so living expenses such as rent, electricity, water, gasoline, food, rice, children's tuition and gas have skyrocketed, putting her under a lot of pressure.

Workers' lives are still difficult, so they hope the government will soon stabilize prices of goods to make life less difficult.

Because they have small children, cooking takes a lot of time. Every month, Dung's family uses up more than one gas tank (12 kg).

Although she wanted to switch to an electric stove to save money, this was out of reach for her family, because in addition to investing tens of millions of dong to buy a new induction stove, the story of electricity prices increasing since last May and increasing progressively made her family hesitate and consider.

"Many people say the increase is only a few tens of thousands, what's so great about it, but my family is still struggling, my husband and I's salary is less than 15 million, we have to feed 4 mouths, study, travel, and then have to ride a motorbike back to our hometown in Hai Duong once every two months, so we have to calculate every meal carefully according to the motto "eat smart to be full, dress smart to be warm".

Now the children have started the new school year, and it is the end of the year, the expenses have increased, and now they have increased even more. Maybe my husband and I have to be more frugal, reduce our children's milk intake, and go back to the countryside less, maybe we will have enough," Ms. Dung lamented.

Mr. Vu Huy Ha, Director of Hanoi Industrial Catering Company (Hanoi), said that as a unit specializing in providing hundreds of thousands of meals for students in Hanoi, Bac Ninh, and Bac Giang, the demand for rice, meat, fish, chicken, eggs, and gas to cook food every day is very large.

“Our unit started providing meals to schools in mid-August. And since then, food prices have continuously increased and remained high, while meals for students range from 25,000 - 30,000 depending on the area, causing businesses to struggle to bear the burden.

However, to maintain the reputation of the business and to sign contracts with schools and parents, we still have to maintain it, even though we know it is not profitable. Therefore, we hope that ministries and branches will soon have policies to stabilize not only gas prices but also gasoline and other foods," said Mr. Ha.

Food businesses are facing many difficulties due to the recent increase in prices of many commodities.

Mr. Nguyen Van Truong, Deputy Director of Nhan Hoa Food Company (Hanoi) also lamented that in the context of the still difficult economy, food of all kinds is already expensive, now the gas price has increased, creating more burden for businesses.

According to Mr. Truong's calculations, his company consumes about 500 kg of gas per day on average. If the gas price had not increased like today, we would have reduced costs by 83,000 VND per 50 kg gas cylinder.

Now that gas prices have increased, the company's daily expenses have increased by 830,000 VND for gas. Not to mention other foods such as vegetables, fruits, rice, meat, fish, and gasoline have also increased, causing the company's daily expenses to increase by more than 3 million VND.

“If we calculate the total cost for the 21 service days, each month we increase our expenses by more than 63 million VND. In the context of many economic difficulties, the continuous increase in food, gasoline, and gas prices not only affects businesses but also directly impacts the lives and activities of people. Therefore, we hope that the State will soon have an intervention policy to stabilize and help businesses and people overcome difficulties,” Mr. Truong suggested.

PHAM DUY

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