Ho Chi Minh City: 'Sold out' of essential goods for relief

Photo caption — Ho Chi Minh City residents are looking to buy instant noodles, food, mineral water... to give to people in the Central region, causing these items to temporarily "sell out".

In the past few days, Ms. Le My Hanh in Binh Thanh Ward has been running around to buy instant noodles, sausages, and milk to send to the Central region in time for the relief trucks. However, both the supermarket and the convenience store around her house have reported that they are out of stock. Finally, she decided to transfer 2 million VND to the account of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.

“I think cash can be used flexibly during this period, and local authorities know what they are lacking. The goods we buy sometimes overlap or do not meet people's needs,” said Ms. My Hanh.

In the same situation of looking to buy but not having any goods, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Vu in Tang Nhon Phu ward said that from yesterday until this morning he had visited a total of six stores to buy a few boxes of instant noodles to send to the volunteer group but all of them said they were out of stock.

“I stood in front of a store waiting for nearly 30 minutes because I heard the truck was coming, but in the end the supplier informed me that it could not be delivered yet. Unable to buy the goods, I paid a deposit in advance so that when the goods arrived, I could receive them immediately, hoping to send them to the volunteer group to prepare for departure,” said Mr. Hoang Vu.

Not only the people, but also small grocery store owners in Ho Chi Minh City have reported being overloaded and out of stock due to the high demand for relief goods. Ms. Do Thi Thu, owner of a grocery store on Hau Giang Street, said that in the past 24 hours, the amount of goods sold was almost equal to the previous week. "Essential items such as instant noodles, sausages, biscuits, canned fish, etc. are all sold out. Customers keep asking 'do you have any left' and I have sold the last bottle of mineral water," Ms. Thu said.

According to some distribution systems in Ho Chi Minh City, the temporary "out of stock" of many essential goods in the past two days was not due to a shortage of supply but due to a sudden increase in demand for relief goods from people, businesses and volunteer groups.

Ms. Huyen Duong, manager of four distribution warehouses of the CP Company in the Thu Duc - Binh Thanh - District 9 (old) area, said that the number of orders has increased 4-5 times compared to normal days. The most purchased product is sausage, 20 packs/box. Currently, the factory is still delivering additional products but cannot do so immediately. The warehouse has to work overtime, mobilize all staff and trucks to run continuously to deliver goods to the receiving points of the Fatherland Front and the people.

In the Cho Lon area, dealers are also in a similar situation of "out of stock". Mr. Ngo Tran Hung, owner of Hung Ngo food dealer on Tran Chanh Chieu street (Cho Lon ward) said that this morning, the dealer also cleared out all inventory to deliver to customers. "If the goods arrive at 100 boxes, customers will order 200 boxes. The demand is so high that we cannot keep up. When contacting the factory, the dealer received notice that the number of orders is too large, so it will take 1-2 days to replenish enough goods for customers," Mr. Tran Hung added.

According to Mr. Tran Hung, there are currently many people actively registering to receive goods as soon as the warehouse has new supplies. "Customers are still not discouraged, they just hope that the goods will arrive quickly so that they can receive them and send them to the Central provinces in time. Everyone says 'take as much as you have left', proving that the people of Ho Chi Minh City are currently very much devoted to the people of the Central region," Mr. Tran Hung added.

According to a representative of a large supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City, the concentrated demand in a very short period of time has made it difficult for the central warehouse to rotate goods in time. In addition, some transportation routes to the Central region have been temporarily cut off due to floodwaters, causing the transfer of goods from the factory to the warehouse to be delayed a few times. "This is just a local shortage of goods, not a scarcity. The factory has been working overtime, and it is expected that goods will arrive continuously in the next 24-48 hours," said the representative of this supermarket.

According to many retail chains in Ho Chi Minh City, the shortage is only short-term and will be resolved as soon as factories complete new deliveries. Many businesses also pledged not to increase prices, despite the increase in transportation and labor costs in recent days.

For major distributors, overtime production has been activated to ensure supply. Some businesses even prioritize the release of relief shipments instead of distributing to the retail market to meet the urgent needs of philanthropists and volunteer groups.

A representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade said that the goods under the City's price stabilization program are still in abundant supply, with no shortages. Businesses participating in the program have proactively increased their reserves by 20-30% compared to the plan to meet the increased demand. "Retail prices remain stable, the City will continue to coordinate with businesses to closely monitor the market to promptly regulate goods when necessary," the representative of the Department of Industry and Trade affirmed.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/tp-ho-chi-minh-chay-cac-mat-hang-thiet-yeu-dung-gui-cuu-tro-20251124153623460.htm