Difficult for both sellers and buyers
In the most recent adjustment, gasoline prices have nearly reached 26,000 VND/liter. Accordingly, in some traditional markets in Can Tho , prices of foods such as meat, fish, vegetables, tubers... and some other consumer goods are all about to increase, causing difficulties for both traders and consumers.
Selling fish at Nga Ba market (Binh Thuy district, Can Tho city), Ms. Pham Thuy Kieu said that due to the increase in transportation costs, the types of fish she sells have also increased. The higher the price, the fewer customers come to her fish stall.
“The price of gasoline just increased a few days ago, today the prices of all the fish I sell have increased by 3,000-6,000 VND/kg. In these difficult economic times, business is already sluggish and now it is even more difficult to increase prices. Because most people are saving money,” Ms. Kieu confided.
Similarly, Mrs. T - a vegetable and root vegetable vendor at O Mon market (O Mon district, Can Tho city) - also expressed her frustration with the decreasing purchasing power. Strangers asked for prices and then hesitantly left, regular customers came less often, and if they did come, she had to beg a lot to buy some vegetables.
“The price increase has really made things difficult for both buyers and sellers like me. In recent months, purchasing power at my vegetable stall has decreased significantly, and now the increase in gas prices has slowed down business even more. Some types of vegetables and tubers I sell have increased in price by a few thousand to tens of thousands of VND each, especially those that have to be transported from Da Lat,” Ms. T said.
As someone who goes to the market every day, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue Chi (O Mon District, Can Tho City) is also frustrated by the skyrocketing prices: "The bunch of cabbage I bought yesterday was 12,000 VND, but now I come back and ask and it's 14,000 VND, and pork leg has gone from 95,000 VND to 102,000 VND. My income is still the same, but everything has gone up in price, making me not know what to buy."
Hope to have stabilization policy soon
The increase in gasoline prices has caused the prices of other goods to increase, which has had a significant impact on small traders and consumers. Accordingly, some small traders have had to choose between continuing to work to retain customers or increasing prices for fear of losing customers.
Unable to bear the continuous increase in transportation costs, Ms. Kieu was forced to increase the selling price of fish. Ms. Kieu shared that a few months ago, she tried to maintain the selling price or only slightly increase it by 2,000-3,000 VND/kg of fish to retain customers. However, at the present time, she is forced to increase the price even more. Although she knows that the more the price increases, the more the purchasing power decreases, she has to accept it because if she does not do so, she will only have to make up for the loss.
Also worried about losing customers if prices increase, Ms. T had to reduce profits to retain consumers. Accordingly, Ms. T will still increase the prices of some vegetables with high transportation costs, and she will try to sell those with lower transportation costs at the old price. However, according to Ms. T, these are only temporary solutions to retain customers. She still hopes that the prices of gasoline and other goods will soon be adjusted to stabilize so that she can restore her business.
Not only retailers, consumers also hope that commodity prices will soon stabilize again.
“The cost of living and food remains the same, but the prices of everything at the market have increased, so I have to buy less. My family meals have fewer dishes. I have also cut down on snacks and non-essential items. Only then can my family make ends meet during the price storm. But this is only temporary. In the long term, I still hope that stabilization policies will soon be implemented to support consumers,” said Ms. Chi.
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