Fuel prices increase, people worry about 'escalating' living costs

Gas prices increase sharply, housewives switch to induction cookers

Cumulatively, after 9 consecutive price increases, each gas cylinder has increased in price by 164,000 VND/12kg cylinder. Photo: Thanh Phuc

After 9 consecutive price increases, on November 1, each 12 kg gas cylinder will increase by 17,000 VND, bringing the retail price to consumers to approximately 500,000 VND/cylinder. According to a survey, currentlygas price in Nghe Anas follows: Petrolimex gas is 485,000 - 500,000 VND/12kg cylinder, other types of gas such as Thang Long, Gia Dinh, Dat Viet have lower prices from 50-60,000 VND/cylinder.

Explaining the reason for the sharp increase in gas prices in November, gas businesses said that the gas transaction price on the world market for November contracts increased by 52.5 USD/ton compared to October, at an average of 850 USD/ton. Therefore, domestic gas businesses had to adjust the retail gas price up. This is the 9th month this year that gas prices have increased, with the total increase to date being 164,000 VND/12kg cylinder.

Gas prices increase sharplycausing many difficulties for people, especially low-income households, especially during the complicated Covid epidemic, negatively affecting jobs and income as it is now.

People, especially commercial kitchens, face many difficulties as gas prices continue to increase. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Pham Thi Minh, owner of a breakfast restaurant on Nguyen Sy Sach Street (Vinh City) said: “With 2 industrial gas stoves, on average, the restaurant uses up a 45kg gas tank every month. Gas prices are constantly increasing while the price of porridge and vermicelli cannot be increased due to the pandemic, the number of customers has decreased and diners are tightening their spending. If the price increases, it will be easy to lose customers.” Therefore, she switched to using an electric bone stew pot, only using the gas stove to quickly heat up dishes to save costs.

Many people are switching to induction cookers as gas prices continue to rise. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Nguyen Trong Dai, the owner of a carpentry workshop in Hung My (Hung Nguyen), has 10 workers who live and work on-site. On average, the workshop uses a 12kg gas cylinder every month to cook for the workers. Immediately after the announcement of the gas price increase to 500,000 VND/cylinder, Mr. Dai switched to using an induction cooker. According to Mr. Dai's calculations, an induction cooker not only helps save cooking time but also saves heat energy by heating the bottom of the pot directly and does not radiate heat to the outside like a gas stove. It turns out that each month, it only costs about 100,000 - 150,000 VND for electricity, which is 1/3 of the cost of gas and is safer, especially for a wood workshop that is prone to fire and explosion like his.

Mr. Hoang Minh, owner of a gas and stove dealer on Tran Canh Binh Street (Vinh City) said: “Gas prices have been increasing continuously in recent times, so many people have switched to using electric induction cookers. Accordingly, the number of induction cookers sold by the store has increased by 10% compared to before and is expected to increase sharply in the near future.”

Income down, expenses up

Record high gasoline prices have had a significant impact on the income of many people, especially transportation businesses. Photo: Thanh Phuc

As a shipper, constantly traveling by motorbike, Nguyen Thanh Linh spends about 100,000 VND on gas every day. Linh said, compared to beforeGasoline price increasethen every day I have to pay an additional 20,000 VND for gas, which means my income is also cut by that much.

Recently, the Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted production and business activities, so the "escalation" of gasoline prices has put even more pressure on businesses, especially in the transportation sector. "High gasoline prices, few passengers and arranging passengers according to the prescribed distance, so transportation businesses like us face many difficulties. At this time, we determine to maintain routes to retain customers, not to consider profits, so the number of trips/week is also reduced to reduce costs," said Mr. Hoang Anh, owner of 3 long-distance passenger buses from Vinh to Hanoi.

According to many fishermen in Nghi Thuy (Cua Lo Town) who fish close to shore, the cost of fishing has increased due to the increase in oil prices, so their income has decreased significantly. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The increase in gasoline and oil prices not only affects those in the transport business but also directly impacts seafarers. Mr. Hoang Hoa Dao, a fisherman in Binh Minh block, Nghi Thuy ward (Cua Lo town) said: "Each fishing trip by basket boat consumes about 4-5 liters of diesel. Oil prices have increased while shrimp and fish are increasingly scarce, seafood prices have decreased, so income has decreased sharply. Now, I only go on a fishing trip every 2-3 days."

The increase in gasoline prices has significantly affected people's living expenses. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Gasoline prices increasedirectly affecting the cost of production and transportation of goods, many essential consumer goods have increased by 5-7% compared to before. Currently, the price of green vegetables and pork in the markets is increasing, in which, the reason is said to be partly due to the increase in transportation costs.

Ms. Pham Thi Thu Hang, a resident of Vinh City, said: "The increase in gasoline prices will lead to an increase in the retail market and the cost of living for each family will increase, causing difficulties in balancing spending when the Covid-19 epidemic has more or less reduced the income of families."