Struggling to cope with the spiral of gas prices
In the past 2 months, the story of gas prices has become the top concern of many people. The erratic ups and downs of this commodity 6 times in a row are pushing consumers into a difficult situation and forcing them to find ways to "save themselves" from the gas price storm.
Continuous increase in gas prices makes consumers suffer
Induction cookers and charcoal stoves are popular
Right from the first days of gas price increase, most consumers had to find a way to cope. Ms. Nguyen Thu Thuy (worker at Nam Thang Long Industrial Park - Hanoi) shared that she and her two roommates had always used gas stoves as their main source of income, but the recent gas price storm forced them to equip themselves with a honeycomb charcoal stove. "Living in a rented house, the electricity price is 4,000 VND/kWh, so only a charcoal stove is the most effective means, even though they know it is harmful to health." In the same situation, students and workers from other provinces are the ones who are most troubled by gas prices. With high electricity and gas prices, they have no choice but to look for honeycomb charcoal stoves, which have only one advantage: low price. However, not only students and low-income workers, but also many households in the inner city choose charcoal stoves. Mr. Thang (Nguyen Khang Street) said that in the past, many households in this area used both gas stoves and charcoal stoves to save costs, but only used charcoal for long cooking times such as boiling water, braising fish... "But now that gas prices have increased, it will definitely be the opposite, and charcoal stoves will be used more."
Many other households with more stable income or living in residential areas that are too small to use coal have turned to other popular stoves such as induction cookers, infrared cookers, and electric cookers. Available at some electronics supermarkets such as
According to the reporter's records, currently, induction cookers, infrared cookers... have prices ranging from 580,000 VND to more than 2 million VND/product depending on the brand. A sales staff at Pico said that the Midea induction cooker brand is chosen by many consumers because of its affordable price (about 1.3 million) and its induction function, making it easy to use. This staff member further advised that each type of cooker has its own advantages and disadvantages, consumers should choose depending on the needs and circumstances of each household. For example, induction cookers are convenient in that they cook quickly, do not cause explosions, but are easy to burn if the user does not concentrate on the stove for 5-10 minutes, are picky about pots (requires a flat-bottomed pot made of magnetic stainless steel), and are only suitable for households in areas with a stable power source. Infrared cookers can use more types of pots, have high efficiency, although a bit slower than induction cookers...
When will the suffering from gas end?
Not only households, restaurants and eateries also have headaches because of gas prices. Unable to switch to induction cookers or charcoal stoves for cooking, many stores are forced to raise their prices.
On the gas dealer side, the situation of declining sales and gas inventory is inevitable. The owner of a gas dealer in Dinh Cong area said that the gas price has just increased but the number of customers has decreased significantly and now it will definitely decrease further. Another gas dealer complained that the dealer's revenue has decreased by 30% since the gas price started to increase. The measure used by this store owner is to cut profits to support the gas price reduction for consumers, but the effectiveness is not high.
However, there is a reality that is making many consumers angry: the same brand but gas prices at different agents. For example, the gas agent in Dinh Cong has a price of 460,000 VND/12kg cylinder while in Cau Giay area, the price is 485,000 VND/12kg cylinder. Ngoi Lua Than gas is priced at 475,000 VND/12kg cylinder while Lua Xanh gas is still at 450,000 VND/12kg cylinder. If the authorities do not come up with appropriate gas price management measures, it will only give consumers more reasons to turn their backs on this product.
According to Daidoanket
