With slow business, small traders are considering taking an early Tet holiday break.

In contrast to the usual hustle and bustle, this year, even as Tet approaches, purchasing power remains the same as usual. Many small traders are worried about losses, and some are closing their stalls early for the Tet holiday.

At noon on the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, Ms. Tam, a peach blossom seller at a local market in Ha Dong ( Hanoi ), just opened her stall. "I've accepted that I'll lose money this year, so I'm not really enthusiastic about it," she said.

Ms. Tam recounted that before the full moon, she had imported over 500 peach blossom branches to sell during this Lunar New Year. Although she had anticipated difficulties and imported only two-thirds of what she usually does, more than half of them remain unsold. "It's very hard to make a living this year. The growers aren't selling them cheaply, and the locals aren't buying them because they're expensive," she lamented.

According to Ms. Tam, the price of small peach blossom branches this year is only around 100,000 VND per branch, half the price of previous years, but it's still not easy to close deals. "In previous years, I had a great time selling, customers bought in droves, they wouldn't even haggle over 200,000 VND per branch. Now, with the difficult economy , if I sell at a high price, they won't buy and will switch to buying other things," she said.

A clothing stall at Nha Xanh Market (Hanoi) was deserted despite discounts, on the afternoon of February 1st. Photo: Phuong Dung

Sharing the same predicament, Ms. Minh, who sells clothes at Nha Xanh Market (Hanoi), also admitted that this year's Tet holiday has been quite difficult for small traders.

"There weren't many customers, and they were spending more cautiously. Some people spent an hour trying on clothes but left without buying anything," she said.

In addition, fashion clothing sales have been sluggish this year due to unfavorable weather conditions, as this winter has not seen many cold spells.

But Ms. Tam and Ms. Minh are not the only ones struggling to make a living this Tet season.

In Ho Chi Minh City, traditional markets and supermarkets also have weaker purchasing power compared to previous years.

Ms. Loan, a pork vendor at Xom Moi Market (Go Vap district), said that last year, even on the 20th day of the Lunar New Year, there was a bustling crowd of customers ordering several kilograms of pork, but now, as Tet approaches, only small, sporadic customers are buying.

Similarly, a dried goods store at Ba Chieu Market (Binh Thanh District) reported that this year, consumer demand is weak, so she only imports affordable products. Last year, some types of dried shrimp cost up to a million dong per kilogram, but now they only sell them for 400,000-600,000 dong. Dried squid prices have increased significantly, so instead of selling the 35 pieces per kilogram variety, they now only import the 70-100 piece per kilogram variety.

"I'm importing affordable goods, but the purchasing power isn't as strong as in previous years. With this situation, I'm worried about slow sales and not making any profit during Tet," said Ms. Hoa, a small trader at Ba Chieu Market.

Nhung, a shoe and sandal vendor at An Dong Plaza, said that no year has been as difficult for small business owners as this year. Even with Tet (Lunar New Year) approaching, most businesses are having to sell their goods at discounted prices. This is a situation that has never happened in the days leading up to Tet in previous years.

"Yesterday, I reduced the price of some items to 100,000 VND, but demand was weak. As a result, the next day I sold them at a loss for only 50,000 VND," Ms. Nhung said.

A number of small traders at An Dong Market are also competing to sell goods at discounts of up to 70%. Many traders said they are selling at such low prices to clear their stock rather than hoping to make a profit. "This year, it's like there's no Tet holiday because we're losing 30-40% on sales," said Ms. Hang, a trader at the market.

Despite continuously lowering prices, vendors at An Dong Plaza market still find no customers. Photo: Hong Chau

According to the management of traditional markets, there will be no sudden price increases this year like in previous years. Most vendors will sell until the 30th day of the Lunar New Year, possibly extending into the evening to clear their stock.

Ms. Dam Van, Deputy Head of the Nguyen Tri Phuong Market Management Board (District 10), said that purchasing power at the market remains sluggish. "We expect purchasing power to improve in the last week. This year, commodity prices are more stable than in previous years," Ms. Van said.

Mr. Le Hoang Phong, Deputy Director of Hoc Mon Wholesale Market for Agricultural Products and Food, said that the amount of goods arriving at the market this year has increased significantly. From February 4th to 9th (25th-30th of the 12th lunar month), the volume increased by about 10%, and on some days it increased by up to 50% compared to normal. However, revenue from this year's Tet market is only expected to be the same as last year due to weak purchasing power.

Retail expert Vu Vinh Phu explains that the decline in purchasing power is inevitable in the context of a difficult economy and the lackluster business performance of enterprises. He cites a survey from the Institute of Workers' Economics of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, which shows that workers' wages only cover 75% of their living expenses. Meanwhile, farmers, who make up 70% of the social workforce, often face the problem of bumper harvests leading to price drops, with profits after sales insufficient to cover cultivation and livestock costs.

Furthermore, the continuous launch of massive promotional programs by supermarkets, competitors of traditional markets, is also a reason why traditional markets are deserted. He cited the example of "a bottle of cooking oil that normally sells for 120,000 VND but during this Tet promotion it's only a little over 100,000 VND, so people will choose to buy it at the supermarket instead of at grocery stores."

Supermarket chains are currently offering promotional discounts of up to 50% on many products to help people shop for Tet (Lunar New Year). Even price-stabilized, low-priced items are seeing further price reductions this Tet season.

Egg prices have also dropped across the board at supermarkets as Tet (Lunar New Year) approaches. Photo: Hong Chau

Mr. Truong Chi Thien, General Director of Vinh Thanh Dat Food Joint Stock Company (V.Food), said that despite the low price of stabilized eggs and weak purchasing power, the company has decided to reduce the price of chicken eggs by 10% at its stable-price poultry egg sales points in Ho Chi Minh City this year leading up to Tet.

Similarly, Ba Huan Food Joint Stock Company also reduced the price of chicken eggs by 10% from February 1st to 24th (the 22nd day of the 12th lunar month to the 15th day of the 1st lunar month). In addition, Ba Huan also combined a 10% discount on some processed food items such as sausages, chicken meat, hot dogs, spicy and sour chicken feet, etc.

Besides the reason of people tightening their spending, another reason mentioned by expert Vu Vinh Phu is that traditional markets are gradually losing customers to online markets. However, Mr. Phu believes that the period from the 23rd to the 29th of Tet (Lunar New Year) will see the strongest increase in purchasing power; therefore, small traders should still prepare their goods to meet demand.

In the long term, according to experts, sustainable consumer demand stimulation solutions are needed, including creating jobs and income for people, shortening supply chains to reduce intermediate costs, and lowering production costs. At the same time, he believes that solutions are needed to help traditional markets, which currently account for 75% of the retail market share, to fulfill their role. Traditional markets need to solve the problems of infrastructure investment, more effective management of product quality and food safety, and ensuring traceability...

According to Mr. Phu, besides serving the poor and low-income people, the market is also a meeting place and a place for interaction among different social classes, a tourist and investment destination, and a place to receive agricultural products that have not yet had the opportunity to be brought into modern commercial channels.

"If these shortcomings can be resolved, it will contribute to the development of the distribution system in each locality and region throughout the country," Mr. Phu added.

Hong Chau - Phuong Dung

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/buon-ban-e-am-tieu-thuong-tinh-nghi-tet-som-4708041.html