Many groups of consumer goods and services in January had price indexes increase.

In January 2024, the business and commercial activities in the province were quite vibrant, the demand for consumer goods and travel increased; but prices were controlled, there were no sudden or unusual price increases. By the end of January, the total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue reached 3,533.3 billion VND, up 4.7% over the previous month and up 11.1% over the same period in 2023.

Contributing to the increase in commercial revenue in January is the fact that businesses, commercial establishments, supermarkets, and shopping centers always maintain an abundant supply of goods and increase investment in new, diverse, and rich products; at the same time, implementing many attractive promotional programs to stimulate consumption on the occasion of the New Year 2024 and preparing to welcome the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin 2024. In addition, the market stabilization program for the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin 2024 contributes to ensuring the balance of supply and demand of goods, stabilizing the market and social security, providing adequate and regular supply, ensuring the source of essential goods, meeting the consumption needs of people, especially in rural areas, remote areas, and ethnic minority areas.

Of the total increase, by industry, retail sales of goods reached VND2,695.1 billion, accounting for 76.3% of the total, up 5.6% over the previous month and up 11.5% over the same period last year. Revenue from accommodation and catering services reached VND532.1 billion, accounting for 15.1% of the total, up 0.7% over the previous month and up 8.8% over the same period last year. Revenue from tourism and travel reached VND1.3 billion, accounting for 0.04% of the total, up 0.5% over the previous month and up 17.2% over the same period last year. Revenue from other services is estimated at VND304.8 billion, accounting for 8.6% of the total, up 3.8% over the previous month and up 11.6% over the same period last year.

Consumers choose to buy goods at Winmart supermarket. Photo: V.Ny

Regarding the consumer price index (CPI), January increased by 0.55% compared to the previous month and increased by 4.26% compared to the same period last year. Notably, of the 11 main groups of consumer goods and services, 7 groups had an increased price index, 3 groups had stable price index, and only 1 group had a decreased price index. Specifically, the 7 groups of goods and services with increased price indexes include: Housing and construction materials group increased the highest with 4.10%, mainly due to the increase in gas price by 1.40%; rental housing price increased by 9.84%; maintenance materials increased by 0.40%, especially the price of paint of all kinds increased due to the increased demand for home repairs near Tet. Next, the group of household appliances and equipment increased by 0.25%, mainly concentrated in items such as: Wall mirrors increased by 4.93%; gardening tools increased by 0.99%; brooms of all kinds increased by 3.99%; Candles and matches increased by 1.79%; insecticides increased by 0.68%; service staff rental prices increased sharply by 4.38% due to increased labor costs near Tet.

Groups: Beverages and tobacco increased by 0.25%; culture, entertainment and tourism increased by 0.06%; other goods and services increased by 0.03%; transportation increased by 0.01%. The food and catering services group increased by 0.05%, of which food increased by 0.11% mainly due to increased rice prices (up 0.10%) due to low harvest output in the season, rice had to be imported from other provinces, increased transportation costs increased local rice prices.

Three groups: Medicines and health services, post and telecommunications, and education had price indexes that did not increase or decrease. Only the group of clothing, hats, and footwear decreased by 0.04%, because some clothing stores reduced prices to attract customers, releasing old inventory to import new goods to sell near Tet. Of which, clothes for girls decreased by 0.69%; the remaining items kept prices stable because shopping demand was still slow.

January is the time before the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin 2024, so transportation activities in the month are quite vibrant and bustling, due to the demand for transporting passengers home and the amount of goods circulating to serve production and business. In particular, the number of passengers transported reached 1.6 million, up 0.9% compared to the previous month and up 78.9% compared to the same period last year; freight transport reached 1.6 million tons, up 7.7% compared to the previous month and up 36.4% compared to the same period last year.

Linh Giang

Source