Minh Tam
A customer looks for milk items in a supermarket in HCMC. Prices of over 60 milk brands in the stabilization program have gone up by 5-7%. - Photo: Minh Tam
Meat prices are up VND1,000-6,000 (4.7-28 U.S. cents) per kilogram while milk items are 5-7% higher than on previous days.
Nguyen Quoc Chien, head of the HCMC Department of Finance’s price office which is responsible for pricing matters in connection with the products under the price stabilization program, said the higher prices of those necessities resulted from the increases in input costs.
Nguyen Tan An, deputy director of Vissan Co., Ltd, a leading food processing firm in HCMC, said pork prices inched up before the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, early this year and then went down. However, the prices began edging higher early last month.
An said live pigs now sold at VND51,000-52,000 (US$2.42) per kilo, up 20% year-on-year, and 15% versus a month ago.
An said input costs had been up since the pre-Tet period but enterprises had managed to keep their prices stable as committed to the price stabilization program.
“The old prices were applied from early September last year. From April 1 this year when a new stabilization program kicked off, businesses were allowed to hike their selling prices and the new prices just help them break even,” said Chien.
Besides red meat and milk, other products falling under the program like pharmaceuticals, schooling items, sugar and food are retailed at the same prices as before April or at lower prices.
Participating enterprises of this year’s program must sell their products at prices 5-15% lower than those of similar products available on the market. They can adjust up their prices if input costs are up 5-10%.
In case the market prices are down around 5%, they should either lower their product prices or launch discounts for consumers.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
