HCM City retailers are working hard to keep prices steady as fuel hits new highs

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VIETNAM, March 12 –

Retail businesses are under pressure to raise prices. — Photo baodautu.vn

HCM CITY – Retail businesses in HCM City are working hard with suppliers and distributors to limit price increases for food and consumer goods.

Trần Lâm Hồng, deputy general manager of the Union of Commercial Co-operatives of Saigon (Saigon Co.op), said that since before the Lunar New Year – at the end of January – some suppliers of consumer products and foodstuffs have been asking for an increase in prices, but the Saigon Co.op supermarket chains negotiated and found ways to keep the prices unchanged.

However, with gasoline prices reaching their highest levels on record, leading to a sharp increase in production and transportation costs, manufacturers and distributors would suffer heavy losses without raising prices, he said.

A spokesperson for the Saigon Trading Group (SATRA) said his company was negotiating with suppliers to keep prices stable, but they would fluctuate slightly, with vegetable and fruit prices rising 3-5%.

Retailers are worried as demand has fallen sharply due to COVID-19 as people tighten spending, and any price hikes would cause sales to plummet further.

SATRA said that since the Lunar New Year, sales have fallen 5-7% year-on-year.

Faced with unfavorable market conditions, Satra wants manufacturers to work together to keep prices stable.

Nguyễn Đăng Phú, deputy general manager of Vissan Co Ltd, said that to keep prices stable, his company had stocked the necessary raw materials for the next three to five months and was negotiating with raw material and packaging suppliers to maintain prices unchanged for another two or three months. three months when they want increases of 5 to 7%.

Processed foods may struggle to hold prices down, but for fresh foods like pork and seafood, it’s tough to continue holding prices down after fuel prices hit record highs and are expected to rise further .

Nguyễn Trọng Trí, Deputy Sales Manager of CP Livestock Joint Stock Company, noted the pork consumption in Ho Chi Minh City had dropped by 30-40% as many schools were still not open due to the epidemic. —VNS

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