Cold rain, soaring food prices.

(Baonghean)Along with the cold weather, housewives have been witnessing continuous price increases for many food items over the past few days. The reason given is that the cold weather has caused shortages of goods, leading to a surge in input costs, by 20-50%, or even 100%.

At Hung Dung market, beef tenderloin prices have increased from 200,000 VND to 230,000 VND/kg; chicken prices have also risen earlier than usual (in previous years, prices usually increased around Tet). The price of free-range chicken has increased from 110,000 VND in November to 135,000-140,000 VND/kg, and in some places even up to 150,000 VND/kg. According to traders, the high price of chicken is due to a shortage of supply because the country has banned chicken imports from China. Ms. Hoa, a chicken vendor at the market, shared: "We now have to source chicken from many suppliers. With this shortage, the price of chicken will increase even more between now and Tet, especially roosters."



Cold, rainy weather has caused vegetable prices to skyrocket.

Not only meat and fish, but the price of green vegetables has also increased sharply due to the cold weather and rain, which have prevented many types of vegetables from growing, causing shortages. A bunch of chrysanthemum greens, which used to cost 500-1,000 VND, now costs 2,000 VND, a 100% increase; similarly, cabbage has increased from 2,000 to 5-6,000 VND per bunch. Vegetables like lettuce, chrysanthemum greens, cabbage, kohlrabi, water spinach, and watercress are so expensive that vendors are dividing them into smaller portions. A hot pot that normally costs only 10,000 VND for enough vegetables now costs two or three times as much. One vendor shared: “We know the high prices make it difficult to sell, but since the cost of buying them is already high, we can't afford to lose money. What's the point of selling if we have to endure the rain and cold and still lose money?” Another vendor added: “My family cultivates one acre of vegetables, but we've tried planting several times and wasted a lot of seeds, and they still haven't grown. It's just too cold and rainy!”

With only a little over a month left until the Lunar New Year, the demand for food is increasing daily. If the cold and rainy weather continues, consumers will certainly have to buy vegetables at even higher prices. Speaking to us, a representative from the Department of Industry and Trade stated: "Green vegetables are dependent on the weather, so it's very difficult to find a way to stabilize prices." Explaining the massive price increase of most food items, many small traders said that prices always rise closer to Tet (Lunar New Year) than during the rest of the year due to the strong increase in consumer demand at the end of the year, coupled with the prolonged cold weather causing shortages of many green vegetables.

However, in reality, many goods unaffected by the cold weather are being arbitrarily inflated in price, and this price increase is causing consumers to worry about a sharp rise in prices during the Tet holiday. Therefore, relevant agencies need to strengthen inspections of price listings and ensure goods are sold at the listed prices in markets; on the other hand, they need to manage and regulate to limit speculation, hoarding, and sudden price increases at the end of the year, which affect consumer rights.

Viet Phuong