This year’s retail sales growth was much lower than 9.5 percent seen in 2019 and was also the lowest rate in the 2011-2020 period due to the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Revenue from retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 3.9 quadrillion VND, up 7 percent year-on-year or accounting for 79 percent of the total. Especially, revenue increased by 10.7 percent for food and foodstuff; 7.5 percent for the group of household appliances, tools and equipment; 3 percent for garments and 1 percent for cultural and educational services.
Meanwhile, revenue from accommodation and catering services dropped by 13 percent year-on-year to 510.4 trillion VND, making up 10 percent of the total. Last year, the revenue from these services saw a yearly increase of 9.8 percent.
Other services also experienced a slight revenue decline of 4 percent to 535 trillion VND in 2020.
However, VNDirect Securities forecast that the nation’s retail sales growth would bounce back to pre-COVID-19 levels next year, reaching 8.5-9 percent year-on-year.
The projection was made on the back of the country’s successful containment of COVID-19, which was a major contributor to the economic rebound in the third quarter that saw unemployment fall 0.23 percent against the previous quarter to 2.5 percent.
VNDirect also predicted that consumer confidence would likely recover soon, against a backdrop of COVID-19 vaccines expected to be available in 2021.
With the rapid growth of the middle class and rising per capita income, domestic consumption remained the main growth driver of the retail industry, even during COVID-19.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade expected the domestic trade sector’s added value to contribute 13.5 percent to GDP by 2025 and total retail sales of goods and services to grow around 9-9.5 percent annually over the next five years.
The ministry forecast that total retail sales would reach nearly 350 billion USD by 2025.
The market’s recovery offers huge opportunities for retailers to expand their distribution networks.
Saigon Co.op is targeting to add at least 2,000 stores to its chain over the next five years, with revenue rising 8-10 percent annually.
Major Japanese retailer Muji, which sells a wide variety of household and consumer goods, has opened its first store in Vietnam, in HCM City, and is planning to open another in Hanoi, it added.
Inflation forecast to be controlled less than 4% in 2021
Many essential goods prices are forecast to fluctuate in 2021, thus the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will rise more sharply than in 2020. However, the average price hike for the whole year is projected to be less than 4%, as the target set by the National Assembly (NA).
This comment was proposed by experts at a seminar held by the Academy of Finance on January 5 to discuss price fluctuation in 2020 and forecast for 2021.
Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of the Price Management Department, said that both objective and subjective impacts have made the Government and ministries and branches’ task of stabilizing the macro-economy, promoting growth, and controlling inflation face great challenges. Therefore, the department had built and set up a price management scenario for this year, closely following the NA target of controlling inflation at below 4%.
In that context, price management has been directed by the Government and the Prime Minister to implement a prudent point of view, closely coordinating to ensure the harmonization of common goals.
It was difficult to predict prices of commodities this year, so the Price Management Department would continue to work closely with ministries, agencies and localities to drastically and effectively implement the public management, administration and price stabilization under market mechanisms to control inflation according to set targets, said Tuan.
At the same time, it would continue to implement the market price roadmap for public services and essential goods.
Economic expert Ngo Tri Long said that 2021 is still very unpredictable, so price management should be operated in a prudent, flexible and proactive manner. Fiscal policy should coordinate closely with monetary policy and other macroeconomic policies in order to control inflation in accordance with the set targets; at the same time, contributing to supporting and removing difficulties for production and business, and the lives of people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Nguyen Duc Do, Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics and Finance, in 2021, when the disease is better controlled thanks to vaccines, and the world and domestic economy recovers; inflation compared to the same period last year tends to increase again.
Da Lat aims to welcome 4 million tourists in 2021
Da Lat city greeted more than 58,000 visitors during the 2021 New Year holiday from January 1 to 3, said Ms. Tran Thi Vu Loan, Deputy Chairwoman of the Da Lat People’s Committee.
Of this, domestic visitors reached 57,500, a year-on-year increase of 44% while foreigners numbered over 500, a year-on-year decrease of 92%. Total number of visitors staying overnight was 48,000.
While the tourism industry of many countries in the world and many localities in the country are greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of tourists choosing Da Lat for their destination on New Year is remarkable and is expected to open prospect for the city’s tourism industry in 2021.
In 2020, Da Lat welcomed four million tourists; down 44% compared to 2019. Of which, over-staying visitors were more than 3.6 million, down 24.7%.
It is forecasted that by 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic may still be complicated; the local tourism industry focuses on attracting domestic tourists, with many programs linking tours, stimulating tourism demand during the tourist season and holidays. It aims to welcome more than 4 million visitors this year./.