Vegetable, egg shortage plagues HCMC

With surrounding localities undergoing social distancing, many residents have been stockpiling products, causing a shortage in Ho Chi Minh City, Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, deputy director of the city’s department of industry and trade, told reporters Friday.

The city falls short of around 1,000 tons of vegetables, fruit and fresh food each day, he added.

Egg prices are stable in supermarkets and lower than outside, therefore in recent days people have been buying eggs in large quantities to sell for a profit.

"Many supermarkets have limited egg purchases to two packs of 10," Phuong said, adding the city is working to partner with central highlands provinces to supply more fresh products.

Besides, as each province has its own regulations on the expiration of Covid-19 tests for drivers, transport companies are struggling to deliver goods to HCMC.

Phuong proposed a more streamlined transportation process between localities.

HCMC is currently trialing the resumption of vegetable sales at traditional markets, most of which have been shut down for weeks, to partly deal with shortages.

It is also working with retail chains and e-commerce platforms like Tiki, Lazada and Sendo to sell vegetables.

HCMC is in its ninth day of a 15-day social distancing campaign with over 25,600 local cases confirmed in the latest Covid-19 wave.