How do Nghe An people 'adapt' when commodity prices increase following gasoline prices?

Prices increase from "vegetables and fish"

Vegetable prices have increased sharply following the rise in gasoline prices. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Since the beginning of June, prices of consumer goods have been adjusted upwards.gas pricesAccording to the survey, the price of vegetables increased by an average of 2,000-3,000 VND/bunch; fruits and vegetables increased by 3,000-5,000 VND/kg; Meat and fish also increased by 5,000-10,000 VND/kg; Poultry eggs increased by 5,000-10,000 VND/dozen.

Essential goods such as cooking oil, fish sauce, instant noodles, etc. have also increased rapidly. Mr. Nguyen Thuc Dat, owner of a grocery store on Ngo Duc Ke Street (Vinh City) said: "The price of cooking oil of all kinds has doubled compared to last year. In addition to cooking oil, the price of spices such as MSG and seasoning powder has also increased, causing difficulties for both buyers and sellers.

Specifically, cheap oils previously priced at 22,000-25,000 VND/liter have now increased to 40000-46,000 VND/liter. High-end oils such as Neptune and Simply have retail prices ranging from 62,000-65,000 VND/liter. Cai Lan and Meizan oils range from 46,000-50,000 VND/liter. The prices of instant noodles and fish sauce are no exception, with each box of noodles increasing by 10,000-15,000 VND; fish sauce increasing by 2,000-3,000 VND/liter.

Prices of essential goods have increased sharply. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Service feesPrices for shipping, transportation, and food and beverage services have also increased following the price of gasoline. Currently, restaurants and cafes have had to post new prices with the notice "Input costs have increased, so from June 1, the shop would like to increase by 5,000 VND/bowl/cup and will return to the old price when the price of raw materials stabilizes again". Mr. Vo Ngoc Thang, owner of a coffee shop on Nguyen Chich Street, said: "Before, a cup of black coffee or milk coffee here only cost 10,000 VND, now they have all increased to 15,000 VND when the price of ground coffee, milk, and sugar all increased".

Both sellers and buyers "complain about difficulties"

The melon crop is good and sold online, but the shipping cost is so high that Mr. Le Dien (Hamlet 5, Dien Hai, Dien Chau) has to cover the cost, so the profit is low. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Building 1,500m2 of melon greenhouses, the melons have a good harvest, beautiful fruit, high sugar content and have been "deposited" by traders in the North to buy when the melons are still young. With a price of 28,000 VND/kg (including transportation costs), Mr. Le Dien (Hamlet 5, Dien Hai, Dien Chau) calculated that after deducting expenses, he would still have a profit of tens of millions of VND. However, now, in the main harvest season, the transportation cost has increased, each kg of melon "increases" by 1,000 VND in transportation costs, so this trip of melons costs tens of millions of VND in transportation costs.

But doing business requires keeping your word, and since you have already received a deposit, you cannot increase the selling price. Mr. Dien said: “Consider this batch of melons as just breaking even, with no profit. For the next batch of melons, the selling price has increased by over 30,000 VND/kg and we only accept orders of 100kg or more to reduce costs.”

All services have increased prices. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Online businessRegarding homemade foods, Ms. Le Thi Hien in Ben Thuy Ward, Vinh City also encountered many difficulties when shipping costs increased, causing orders to drop sharply. Ms. Hien said: "Each cup of sweet soup costs 15,000 - 20,000 VND while the shipping fee increased by 10,000 - 15,000 VND/order, each cup of sweet soup "costs an additional 5,000 VND in shipping costs, so the amount of goods sold has decreased by half compared to before".

Consumers also have to try to tighten their spending in the face of the "price storm", life is more difficult because prices are getting more expensive but income is not increasing. Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuoc, a housewife, said: "Previously, going to the market for 5 people to eat 2 meals cost about 200,000-220,000 VND, now the cost is 1.5 times higher but still difficult".

Struggling to "adapt"

The continuous increase in gasoline and oil prices, leading to an increase in the prices of essential consumer goods, has had a significant impact on people's lives and the production and business of many enterprises, forcing them to adapt.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga, a housewife in Vinh city, said: "In the face of the current price storm, I have to cut down on unnecessary family expenses such as: limiting shopping for clothes, shoes, and sandals; limiting going out on weekends; meals that used to have 2 main dishes and 2 side dishes are now also reduced to 1 main dish and 1 side dish."

Housewives have to "tighten their belts" as prices of all goods fluctuate. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Many restaurant owners, in order to retain customers, in addition to only increasing the selling price "drop by drop", also consider solutions to reduce costs such as electricity and water. Online businesses, instead of hiring shippers to deliver, are forced to ship to customers themselves, supporting shipping costs to retain customers. Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu Oanh, an online food business owner, said: "Before, each order within a distance of less than 5 km cost only 10,000 VND, over 5 km it was 15,000 VND, now it has doubled to 20,000 - 30,000 VND/order. To retain customers, I support half of the shipping cost for customers, which means profits are reduced."

Many businesses providing home delivery services also have a policy of supporting part of the gas costs for employees at a fixed level; improving employees' skills in finding accurate routes, minimizing costs based on the criteria of harmoniously sharing benefits to retain employees.

Delivery companies are also struggling to adapt. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Tran Manh Trien - Head of Service Business Department of HeyU Vietnam Technology Joint Stock Company, Nghe An branch said: "The oil price storm has put great pressure on freight transport businesses like us, directly on delivery staff. Previously, for an order of 10,000 VND, the cost of gasoline accounted for 30%, the % fee for the company, at least they still "pocketed" 4,000-5,000 VND/order, now, the price of gasoline is high, so their income has also decreased sharply. To cope with the oil price storm, the company also has a policy of increasing the price of delivery orders, partially supporting the cost of gasoline; there is a weekly bonus mechanism for drivers with good revenue...".

However, that is only a short-term solution. In the long term, people and businesses want the Government to have a solution for gasoline prices, and direct the Ministry of Industry and Trade to manage gasoline prices best to reduce pressure on businesses and consumers.

Thanh Phuc