Vietnam’s footwear exports up 31 pct

Photo: Tuoi Tre

TUOITRE

Vietnam’s footwear export turnover in the first five months of this year reached over US$2.36 billion, up 31.8 percent over the same period of last year, according to the industry association.
EU remains the leading importer of Vietnam’s footwear, according to Diep Thanh Kiet, deputy head of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (LEFASO).

Export turnover to the US, Japan, Belgium, Holland, France, Denmark and Czech also rose by between 20 - 60 percent.

The EU’s removal of anti-dumping duty on Vietnam’s leather-capped shoes on April 1will help further stabilize the export of this commodity in the near future.

LEFASO forecasted that footwear exports this year will earn $5.5 billion in revenues.

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HCMC, Hanoi see CPI up 2.38 pct, 1.76pct in May

Vegetables pictured at Big C supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City

Photo: Tuoi Tre

TUOITRE

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Ho Chi Minh City’s consumer price index (CPI) this month rose 2.38 percent month on month and 16.23 year on year, according to the municipal Statistics Office.

The HCMC's CPI has risen by 10.86 percent since December, 2010.

Hanoi's CPI in May soared 1.76 percent month on month, said Hanoi Statistics Office, adding that the capital city's CPI in May surged 19.08 percent year on year and rose 11.59 percent from last December.

In the southern economic hub, only post and telecom services had their prices dropped while all other commodities and services had their price hiked.

The commodities posting the highest growth were medicines and medical services (4.25 percent), food and restaurant services (3.77 percent), housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials (2.9 percent), and transportation services (2.77 percent).

Other commodities, including garment, headwear and footwear; household utensils and appliances; cultural, entertainment and tourism services; beverages and cigarettes; and education services saw slight increases.

Gold prices in the southern hub rose 1.57 percent while US dollar prices fell 2.66 percent against the previous month.

The situation in the capital city is nearly the same with only post and telecom services saw their prices drop (1.73 percent) in comparison with last month.

The biggest price hikes in the month were seen in the group of housing, electricity, water, fuel and building materials (2.99 percent), following by food and restaurant services (2.25 percent) and transportation services (2.23 percent).

Other categories including cultural products, recreation and tourism; education; health care; and home appliances saw month-on-month increases of less than 2 percent.

Also during the month, the gold price increased 1.62 percent against last month while the US dollar price was down 0.75 percent month on month.

Cooking gas prices out of control

TUOITRE

Many distributors in Ho Chi Minh City have been increasing the price of cooking gas without permission from their suppliers, a violation of government regulations.

In the last few weeks many retailers in Phu Nhuan, Binh Thanh, and Go Vap Districts hiked the price of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) by VND4,000-VND6,000 (20-30 US cents) for a 12-kilogram cylinder.

They justified this by saying many companies increased prices in mid-April but refused to sanction a hike in retail prices.

“I don’t see any reason for increasing retail prices,” Hoang Anh, deputy chairman of the Southern Gas Sub-association, a member of the Vietnam Gas Association, said, adding that gas import prices have been falling.

Le Phuc Dai, general director of Dai Viet Energy Joint Stock Company (Vinagas), said companies reduced commissions for agents due to the increase in costs.

Saigon Petro Co Ltd too cut commissions for its agents, many of whom then increased prices. But it not only did not haul them up but also announced an increase in retail prices to legalize their action.

But other gas companies have warned their agents about possible penalties for unauthorized price increases.

The latest round of hikes is the seventh since February, which have taken the price of a 12-kg canister up from VND303,000 to VND382,000.

Some retailers, instead of hiking the price, now ask customers to pay transport costs. 
The director of a gas company said companies want to cut commissions for their agents since the latter enjoy high profits but are not strong enough to do it.

The director of another company said retailers have a margin of nearly VND40,000 per cylinder.

But an analyst said gas companies do not have any leverage with their retailers since they do not know costs at lower levels. As a result, retail prices are controlled by retailers rather than the companies, he said.

It is also unclear why different brands cost different prices when they all have the sources of supply, cylinders, and components. For instance a 12-kilogram bottle of SP gas costs VND382,000 while for Saigon Gas it is VND388,000 and for Shell GAS, VND424,000.

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