Milk products' prices continue to decline

The prices of 50 types of milk products for children below 2 years of age will drop by between 0.4 and 4 per cent beginning today. Photo dantri.com.vn

According to the Ministry of Finance, the new prices were set after the ministry required five milk producers and traders to review and remove advertising costs from the selling prices of products for children below 24 months of age, in accordance with regulations on trading and using nutritional products for infants, under decree 100/2014/ND-CP.

The new rates will be slashed by between 0.4 and 4 per cent, depending on the kind of milk products and the structure of selling prices they are suited for, as declared by the ministry, Head of the Price Management Department of the Ministry of Finance Nguyen Anh Tuan said.

The five companies are enterprises that were asked to set the selling prices of milk products meant for children below 6 years of age, according to existing regulations of the ministry.

These include Mead Johnson Nutrition Viet Nam Ltd Company, Friesland Campina Viet Nam Ltd Company, Nestle Viet Nam Ltd Company, 3A Nutrition Ltd Company, and Tien Tien Ltd Company, which supplies to Mead Johnson Viet Nam.

Moreover, other milk firms must announce the selling prices for their products in provinces or cities.

The ministry received declarations on reducing the selling prices of 50 types of milk products for children below 2 years of age from the five companies, Tuan affirmed.

According to the existing regulations, the ceiling cost of advertising, promotional activities and marketing is 15 per cent of an enterprise's total expenses.

Since June 2014, milk producers and traders reviewed and deducted advertising expenses from the selling prices of 686 lines of milk products for children below 6 years of age, as required by the ministry to stabilise the cost of milk products in the domestic market.

As a result, the selling prices of these products dropped by between 0.1 and 34 per cent, he noted.

This is the second time that the selling prices of milk products in the local market has been reduced, with the new rates coming into effect on April 20, he added.