Small TVs cost more as component prices surge

Ngoc Quan, a Hanoi resident, was surprised at the price rise when he visited an electronic retailer to buy a TV.

"I looked for a 32-inch TV of a well-known brand before Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday which fell in February. The price then was VND2.4 million ($104). Now, when I really want to buy it, its price has surged to VND3.6 million," he said.

Dao Tuan, an electronics store manager in Hanoi, said small-sized TVs were in short supply and their prices have been rising since the beginning of the year. The 32-inch TVs used to be sold for as low as VND2 million, but now even the cheapest product of an unfamiliar Chinese brand has reached VND3.3 million.

Le Quang Vu, CEO of the electronics retail chain Media Mart, said prices of small-sized TVs have increased 40-50 percent over last year, while that of larger-sized TVs, around 55 inches, remain the same. He explained that "the large TVs currently sold are old models from last year, so the prices are unchanged."

He expected the prices of TVs of over 50 inches to rise by 10 percent this year.

Thanh Hai, sales manager for a popular TV brand, said the surging TV prices in Vietnam were the result of a global shortage in components.

"The supply of semiconductor chips and TV panels are low, thus component prices surge, making production costs rise," he said.

According to Indian business newspaper Livemint, the cost of open-cell panels has gone up in the global markets by up to 35 percent in just one month in March, and has increased eight-fold since August last year. Open-cell panels constitute 60 percent of a TV unit.

The revenue of Vietnam’s TV market last year dropped 11 percent over the previous year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.