Food, beverage prices soar ahead of Tet

Oanh in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 said prices have risen in recent weeks at a traditional market she often shops at.

“The price of snakehead fish this morning was VND20,000 up from last week to VND90,000.”

The Tra Vinh Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said fish prices have been rising because of increasing demand as input for making products for Tet, Vietnam’s biggest holiday, which falls in January.

Besides, the supply of some fish, such as snakehead has dropped by 50-60% compared to a year ago, it said.

Soft drink and beer prices have risen by VND2,000-15,000 per carton this month, according to shops, who said transportation and storage prices have been rising.

Vegetable prices have also been increasing. Cauliflower now costs VND70,000 per kilogram, up 7.7%. Scallion prices have risen by 15.4% to VND75,000 per kilogram.

Hue, a vegetable vendor at Ba Chieu Market in Binh Thanh District, said prices are at their highest levels this year.

Hoang Thanh Hai, director of the Hai Nong Vegetable Cooperative in Cu Chi District, HCMC, said prolonged rainfall in November has hit output by up to 70%.

His cooperative used to deliver 2.5-3 tons of vegetables to the city daily, but now only sends 0.7-1 ton, he said.

Vegetable farming costs have risen by 40-50% year-on-year to record levels, and declining consumption has caused farmers to reduce production.

Vietnam’s consumer prices in November rose 4.56% from a year earlier, fueled by rising costs of educational services and construction materials, according to the General Statistics Office.

For the first 11 months of 2022, average consumer prices rose 3.02% from a year before, it said.