NTO - First two months of 2024

February 2024 is the month that coincides with the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin 2024, so the business and service activities in the province are quite vibrant. Although the demand for consumer goods and travel increases, the prices of goods and services are well controlled, with no sudden or unusual price increases.

To stimulate consumer demand, supermarkets, mini-supermarkets, and convenience stores organized many promotional programs to attract a bustling number of shoppers, contributing to an estimated retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue of VND3,302.8 billion, an increase of 15.1% over the same period last year.

The increase in purchasing power in February contributed to bringing the total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue in the province in the first two months of the year to VND 6,844.2 billion, an increase of 13.1% over the same period in 2023. By industry: Retail sales of goods are estimated at VND 5,120.8 billion, accounting for 74.8% of the total and increasing by 12.1% over the same period last year, of which: Food and foodstuffs increased by 16.6%; cultural and educational items increased by 13.3%; household appliances, tools and equipment increased by 9.0%; garments increased by 7.2%; means of transport (excluding cars) decreased by 30.2%. Revenue from accommodation and catering services is estimated at VND 1,103.3 billion, accounting for 16.1% and increasing by 18.2%. Tourism revenue is estimated at VND2.5 billion, accounting for 0.1% and increasing by 11.6%. Other service revenue is estimated at VND617.5 billion, accounting for 9% and increasing by 13.4%.

Regarding the consumer price index (CPI), in February, the CPI increased by 1.42% compared to the previous month and increased by 5.38% compared to the same period last year. Notably, in the 1.42% increase of the CPI in February, 8/11 groups of goods and services had price indexes increasing, 3/11 groups had stable price indexes. Of the 8 groups of goods and services with price indexes increasing, the transportation group had the highest increase at 4.33%. The reason was due to the fuel price increase of 5.49% (gasoline price increased by 5.88%; diesel oil increased by 5.50%), in addition, the price of public transport services increased by 50.97%, other services for personal means of transport increased by 29.47%, such as: Train ticket price increased by 2.5 times, air ticket price increased by 39.07%, bus ticket price increased by 14.04% for the route from the city. From Ho Chi Minh City to Ninh Thuan, due to increased travel demand during the Lunar New Year, car wash and tire pumping prices increased by 2.34%, car parking services increased by 42.13%...

Consumers refuel at Ninh Thuan Petroleum Branch. Photo: Van Ny

Next, the group of other goods and services increased by 1.93%, focusing on jewelry prices increasing by 0.92%, due to the increase in domestic gold prices; prices of handbags, suitcases, wallets increased by 2.18%; hair cutting and shampooing services increased by 10.51%; personal care services increased by 30.60%... due to the high demand for beauty during Tet... The group of food and catering services increased by 1.74%, of which: Food increased by 0.10% mainly due to the price of rice increasing by 0.17%; food items increased by 0.66%, especially food and beverage services outside the home increased by 4.58% due to the increase in food and labor prices during Tet, so many restaurants, eateries, coffee shops, and milk tea shops have charged an additional 10-25% compared to normal selling prices.

Groups: Housing and construction materials increased by 1.07%, mainly due to increases in fuel items (kerosene increased by 2.71%, gas increased by 1.23%, electricity increased by 0.19%), water increased by 0.97%, rental housing increased by 2.76%. The beverage and tobacco group increased by 0.59%, mainly due to increased beer and alcohol prices, of which alcohol of all kinds increased by 1.07%; beer of all kinds increased by 1.84%. The garment, hat, and footwear group increased by 0.54%, due to increased demand for garment, hat, and footwear during the Lunar New Year. The household equipment and appliances group increased by 0.41%, due to increased transportation and production costs, combined with increased consumer demand during the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin 2024, causing some consumer goods in this group to increase compared to the previous month. The culture, entertainment and tourism group increased by 0.23%. The remaining three groups of goods and services: Medicines and medical services; post and telecommunications; education, did not increase or decrease. The above results contributed to the average CPI in the first two months of 2024 increasing by 4.83% over the same period last year.

Thuc Anh

Source