Supply of essential goods in HCMC sufficient

On May 31, the first day Ho Chi Minh City implemented social distancing according to Directive No.15 "plus" and Directive No.16 of the Prime Minister, the essential commodity market remained fairly plentiful and diverse, ensuring sufficient supply for the demand of citizens. Trading activities in both traditional markets and supermarkets still took place normally, with prices relatively stable, and the purchasing power no longer increased as wildly as on the afternoon of May 30.
Supply of essential goods in HCMC sufficient ảnh 1 Illustrative image
As for vegetables and fruits, the selling prices have increased slightly because the source of goods to the market is temporarily reduced because the transportation stage is being adjusted to suit the anti-pandemic situation of HCMC.

Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of HCMC Nguyen Nguyen Phuong said that on the morning of May 31, the department visited some supermarkets to grasp the supply-demand and purchasing power of goods. The supply of essential goods fully meets the buying demand of citizens. "The problem is that people should be calm, should not stock too many goods, causing an imbalance of supply-demand and causing waste," Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong emphasized.

On the other hand, the city's industry and trade has been organizing a series of solutions to monitor the supply of essential commodities and prevent a scarcity of goods and sudden price increases. In the immediate future, suppliers and distributors are required to work closely with the department to perform well the coordination of goods, meet supply and demand, and stabilize the market in the context of both preventing the pandemic and maintaining manufacturing. In case of a shortage of goods at the point of sale, it is necessary to immediately notify the department to dispatch the nearest distribution unit to bring the goods to rescue.

For enterprises with points of sale in Go Vap District and other areas that are being isolated, it is necessary to increase resources, grasp, and closely monitor the purchasing power, supply, and demand. When there is a sign of a sudden increase in the number of customers, it is necessary to notify the department immediately to coordinate goods.

According to Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, during this time, the department encourages people to increase online shopping. Besides, enterprises also need to diversify sales via telephone, Zalo, Facebook, and website, as well as through many other forms, to reduce the number of visitors to supermarkets, minimizing the risk of infection.

On the afternoon of May 31, at supermarkets located in Go Vap District, such as Lotte Mart in Nguyen Van Luong Street, Emart in Phan Van Tri Street, and Big C in Nguyen Kiem Street, it was recorded that the food supply had been replenished, goods were fully displayed on shelves. However, they experienced the same situation of few customer footfalls. At 6 p.m., at the above supermarkets, the number of customers was higher than at noon.

The best-seller items were still fresh foods of all kinds, such as cattle meat, poultry meat, vegetables, fruits, instant noodles, dried rice vermicelli, and seasoning powder. Despite a large number of customers and strong purchasing power, goods were provided timely, so the out-of-stock situation did not happen. Customers comply well with the regulation of the minimum distance of 2 meters between two people while waiting for checking out.

At Can Cu 26, Go Vap, and some spontaneous markets located on Nguyen Van Cong, Pham Van Chieu, and Thong Nhat streets, trading activities were normal, but the number of customers was small. A small trader at Can Cu 26 Market said that on May 30, she did not have enough goods to sell. However, on May 31, the purchasing power dropped sharply, and selling was slower than usual. Because many people, when they heard the news about social distancing, rushed to buy goods for stockpiling on May 30.

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