Concerns about 'escalating' commodity prices

Not only vegetables but also pork, chicken, seafood, and many other food and consumer goods have increased in price, making consumers worried.

Each one increases a little bit.

When the electricity industry announced an increase in electricity prices, many food items immediately jumped in price. At noon on October 21, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh (30 years old, living in District 10), walked around the market near her house but still could not buy the necessary food. "The price of many foods has increased compared to the beginning of October, which surprised me so much. I went to many stalls, and all the vendors reported a price increase of 5-20%, even some items increased by 50% like vegetables. Now goods "It has increased, it will probably increase even more by the end of the year" - Ms. Thanh said.

Vegetables, meat and fish prices at the market have increased in recent days. Photo: UP

Surveying prices at many markets in Ho Chi Minh City such as Hoa Binh (District 5), Hoa Hung (District 10), Nguyen Thai Binh (District 1)... vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, green beans... are all priced from 35,000 - 70,000 VND/kg; fresh vermicelli, hu tieu from 12,000 - 20,000 VND/kg now increased by 5,000 - 7,000 VND/kg. "Vegetables from Da Lat are decreasing sharply in output due to heavy rain; the increase in electricity prices has led to an increase in the production of vermicelli, pho... This price may last until the end of the year. Prices are increasing, there are few customers coming to the market, wholesale business is very sluggish" - Ms. Minh, a trader at Hoa Binh market (District 5), said.

At wholesale markets, prices also tend to increase. Specifically, at Binh Dien wholesale market (District 8), many seafood products have increased in price compared to September, such as red tilapia at VND100,000/kg, mackerel at VND170,000/kg, whiteleg shrimp at VND180,000/kg... Meanwhile, at Hoc Mon wholesale market (Hoc Mon district), pork prices increased by 20-25% compared to the same period last year, currently priced at around VND78,000-85,000/kg.

Many restaurants have posted new prices since mid-October, all of which have increased by 2,000 - 5,000 VND depending on the dish. “Every morning, I usually eat sticky rice and bread before going to work, but the cheapest dish now costs over 20,000 VND. Pho, hu tieu, broken rice... are all from 50,000 - 60,000 VND. The vendors said that it was because of the increase in electricity prices; meat and vegetables prices jumped. Everything increased a little bit, so the dishes had to go up accordingly,” said Mr. Tran Van Tuan (25 years old, technology driver).

Ms. Lan, owner of Thien Thao grocery store (Binh Tan district), was recently informed by a milk dealer that the price of fresh milk will increase by 5% at the end of this month. According to Ms. Lan, milk companies used to have many promotional programs, but recently there are almost none. "To retain customers, we accept less profit or sell at break-even," Ms. Lan said.

Not only milk, cocoa and coffee also increased rapidly. Currently, roasted and ground coffee costs from 160,000 to 250,000 VND; the price of cocoa as raw material increased 2.5 - 3 times compared to the same period; the price of sugar increased to 29,000 - 30,000 VND/kg, an increase of 8% compared to the same period last year. This makes many manufacturers worry that the price of Tet confectionery using cocoa as raw material will have to change.

Businesses find ways not to raise prices

A series of input costs have increased from raw materials, electricity, transportation, etc., putting pressure on product prices when they reach the market. In this situation, businesses and supermarkets are trying to find ways not to increase prices. Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Huynh Anh, Head of Human Resources and Administration Department of Tafa Group Company (Binh Thuan), said that the company specializes in poultry farming and egg production. Tafa has a farm of more than 120 hectares with about 2 million chickens. Each year, this unit supplies about 1 billion eggs to supermarkets, restaurant chains, hotels, etc. across the country.

“We are affected by the input materials when the price increases; however, thanks to the stable output, this year, Tafa tries to keep the price stable as usual. At the same time, we commit to providing enough goods for the Tet market with the best quality. Tafa plans to expand 4 more farms by 2030 with a total expected quantity of about 6 million chickens. At that time, the price will be even cheaper when the product reaches consumers,” said Ms. Huynh Anh.

According to Mr. Pham Thanh Binh, General Director of Bich Chi Food Joint Stock Company, due to the impact of conflicts in other countries, raw material transportation costs have increased. Mr. Binh predicts that purchasing power during Tet 2025 may be weaker than in 2024. Currently, purchasing power in the market is gloomy, so businesses cannot increase product prices but are struggling to continue production and business.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Doan, Vice President of Dong Nai Livestock Association, informed that the supply of live pigs is showing a sharp decrease due to African swine fever. “The epidemic, along with storms and rains, has caused the death of more than 26,000 cattle and nearly 3 million poultry. Restocking in the North is facing difficulties. It is forecasted that live pigs may exceed 70,000 VND per kg in the near future, pushing up retail prices at the market further,” said Mr. Doan.

Meanwhile, Phan Van Dung, Deputy General Director of Vissan Livestock Industry Joint Stock Company, said that the high price of live pigs has caused many challenges for the company. Vissan is trying to control prices by reducing costs in non-essential stages to support consumers.

Discount Link

Linking together to get the best price food supply is being promoted by many businesses in Ho Chi Minh City. Recently, the Bach Hoa Xanh retail chain signed a strategic cooperation agreement with CPV FOOD Company Limited to increase the import of quality fresh chicken to serve consumers, especially for the high demand near Tet. Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong Ngoc - Purchasing Director, Bach Hoa Xanh fresh food industry said that the unit has worked with many suppliers of meat, shrimp, eggs... and most of them committed to increasing the supply with stable selling prices for the end of the year.

On the afternoon of October 21, sharing with Tien Phong reporter, Ms. Ly Kim Chi, Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Food and Foodstuff Association, said that although raw materials are increasing, enterprises producing essential food and foodstuffs in Ho Chi Minh City are trying to maintain prices, to avoid price inflation in the market.

Recently, the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City organized a conference to connect supply and demand with many localities to diversify sources of goods to serve consumer needs during Tet; create output for regional products. According to Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, the Department has announced the market stabilization program at the end of 2024 and Tet 2025. It is expected that 69 key enterprises will participate, an increase of 10 enterprises compared to 2023. In particular, the amount of stabilized goods according to the program's commitment will account for 21 - 32% of market share in a normal month and about 24 - 41% of market demand in Tet 2025.

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