Shops take on sourcing burden

Shops take on sourcing burden, Illustration photo

Nguyen Quoc Hung, COO of ORFARM, said that the company is experiencing some delays in product delivery due to movement restrictions in big cities. With farms located in Hoa Binh and Dalat, it is taking longer than usual to transport food to its stores in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

“We have to rent a special vehicle and acquire a green channel licence to deliver goods from our farms to retail outlets. Meanwhile, logistics costs are rising sharply during social distancing while growing cancellation costs are disrupting our business,” he said.

“Despite the challenges, ORFARM has committed not to raise prices for now so that we can accompany the government and consumers in the fight against the pandemic,” Hung added, noting that ORFARM is looking forward to receiving support from the government and preferential loans to alleviate cost burdens.

Meanwhile, shop owner Nguyen Cuong said that he has seen the rising demand for seafood products since people have been spending more time at home. However, while the store receives as many as 100-200 orders a day, this does not translate into higher profits as sourcing has grown more difficult and logistics costs skyrocketed.

Due to limited flights, some items have become quite scarce, while the shop had to increase the price of seafood sourced from Phu Quoc Island by 20 per cent and poultry by 10 per cent. For other items, the shop is shouldering the elevated logistics fees to keep prices stable.

“We try to keep our prices stable to retain customers. One of the solutions is to diversify supply sources. We started to import seafood products from Quang Ninh and Haiphong instead of relying only on Phu Quoc. Shipping fees from these areas are much lower as we can transport products by road rather than air,” he said.

Despite retailers’ best efforts, the short supply has affected consumers, especially those in lockdown areas. Le Bao Anh, a housewife in Thu Duc city of Ho Chi Minh City, shared that she wanted to order packaged meat from Vissan but its retail outlets were closed and deliveries have halted. Some e-commerce sites have also run out of packaged meat, recommending her to add these products to her wish list while providing no timeline for delivery.

Likewise, Duong The Nam, an office staff in Tan Binh district, said that he used an online app to order food from the supermarket but he had to wait for two weeks to receive the order. He eventually decided to use express delivery services instead to buy his food and essentials.

As buying food has become a pressing issue, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade has partnered with the Grove Fresh fruit and vegetable supermarket chain to implement a mobile mini-supermarket. Under the initiative, which began on August 14, four buses have been converted into mini-supermarkets to bring goods closer to consumers. Every day, the buses travel with seven tonnes of goods to the hard-to-reach parts and outskirts of the city to support consumers.

A representative of Grove Fresh said, “We are facing enormous sourcing challenges due to a shortage of fresh food like chicken, pork, and beef. Meanwhile, the supply of grocery products like instant noodles, vegetable oil, sugar, and packaged meat has been disrupted as factories are operating at reduced capacity.”

However, Grove Fresh will continue to support consumers. “The rollout of the four mini-supermarkets stocked with food and necessities at stable prices will contribute to easing the food scarcity in the city. This also reflects our commitment to sharing difficulties with the community during this pandemic,” he added.