December 26, 2006
Booming sales in Vietnam as Tet nears
Considering a six-day Tet break (Vietnam's New Year holiday) this year, businessmen in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City have been hastily stocking up in anticipation of increased consumer spending.
Usually a four or five-day affair, this year, the Tet holidays will stretch from Feb 16 to 21 and there have been indications of more expatriate Vietnamese and foreigners likely to visit the city.
The Saigon Trade Corporation anticipates a rise in sales of some 4,600 tonnes, valued at VND 200 billion (US$ 12.4 million).
To meet the high demand, the company plans to supply the local market with of 2,600 tonnes of frozen food, 1,000 tonnes of processed food and 1,000 tonnes of fresh fish.
According to a company representative, the company has also stocked up 400 tonnes of pork meet, 50 tonnes of beef, and 50 tonnes of processed food.
Some livestock product suppliers have increased their stockpiles of poultry eggs and meat, particularly chicken meat, the traditional food of Vietnamese people for the Tet party.
The HCMC-based Phu An Sinh plans to stock up between 200,000 and 300,000 poultry eggs mainly chicken and ducks; and 350,000 chickens, at an expected retail price of VND 40,000 (US$ 2.5) per kg.
The company director Pham Van Minh said some 350,000 chickens in stock for Tet and an additional 3,000 frozen chickens supplied daily would meet only 10 percent of city demand.
Minor outbreaks of bird flu do not seem to have impacted the sales much as chicken demand for Christmas increased by 10 to 20 percent late last week in some southern localities, company heads reported.
Another poultry supplier, Huynh Gia De intends to unleash stocks of 180,000 ducks and 220,000 chickens to cover demand for the year's biggest party.
However, consumers fear an additional charge during Tet holiday.
Market watchdogs forecast that the price of fruit and vegetables would skyrocket for the Tet holiday due to the recent storm in Mekong Delta provinces - the nation's rice, and fruit basket.
