HCMC food prices plummet

After buying chicken eggs, coconuts and pork online on Oct. 5, Yen Nhi from Ho Chi Minh City’s Thu Duc said compared to when the city tightened social distancing on Aug. 23, their prices had declined by some 25 percent to VND25,000 ($1.10) per 10 eggs, VND15,000 per coconut, and VND160,000 per kilogram of pork.

A shopper named Xuan Huong in District 10 said she bought one kilogram of tomatoes on Oct. 6 at a price of VND50,000, less than half the price in late August.

VnExpress surveys at some supermarkets and convenience stores in HCMC’s Nha Be District and Thu Duc City over the past few days have shown food prices are fairly stable. Prices of fresh foodstuffs at supermarkets are a little bit lower than those at smaller outlets.

Spokespeople of big retailers like Central Retail and Saigon Co.op said their food supplies are abundant and that their prices have stabilized.

Prices of vegetables and fruits have decreased, while only those of some spices grown in Mekong Delta have increased, Hoang Thanh Hai, director of Hai Nong Cooperative, told VnExpress, explaining goods purchase and transport have been easier since social distancing measures have been loosened.

However, prices have not returned to the normal level because purchasing power of residents are on the rise, he noted.

"In the next 15-20 days, if weather conditions are favorable, there would be more agricultural products, and their prices would return to normal, like in pre-pandemic times," he predicted.

Meanwhile, prices of high-grade imported foods have remained unchanged due to broken global supply chains, said food importer Cung Ung Online.