Goods, services sales value up 5 per cent this year

July 28, 2011 | 15:00

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The total retail sales value of goods and services increased by only 4.7 per cent to VND1,065.8 trillion ($51.7 billion) during the first seven months of this year, according to a General Statistics Office (GSO) report.

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Recent declining growth rates have been amongst the lowest recently experienced with sales value increasing just 8.7 per cent in the first three months, 7.7 per cent in the first four, 6.4 per cent in the first five and 5.7 per cent in the first six, according to statistics.

Purchasing power has gradually dropped due to consecutive consumer price index (CPI) surges during recent months.

Annual inflation hit 12.17 per cent in the first month of this year, 12.31 per cent in the first two months, 13.89 per cent in first three, 13.95 per cent in first four, 19.78 per cent in first five, 20.82 per cent in first six and 22.16 per cent in the first seven.

Vu Manh Ha, an expert at the GSO's internal economics department, said that people had tightened their purse-strings due to high inflation, only spending money on essential items such as rent, food, fruit, vegetables, electricity, tap water and fuel, all of which have experienced price hikes of their own.

During the first seven months, rice prices jumped by 27.88 per cent, food prices by 36.83 per cent while the group of rent, electricity, tap water and fuel prices shot up by 22.75 per cent in comparison with the same period of last year.

Although consumption was expected to recover by the end of this year due to seasonal demand, the retail sales value growth rate would remain largely the same as now, Ha said.

VIR/VNA

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