Consumption demand on recovery path: ministry

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has forecast that domestic consumption demand will recover and grow thanks to high vaccination coverage and the reopening of the tourism sector.

However, the ministry said the Government’s economic stimulus packages may put more inflation pressure on the domestic market.

Given this, the MoIT said it will continue to keep a close watch on supply and demand as well as prices of essential goods, while closely coordinating with other ministries and agencies to control prices and prevent market manipulation.

The ministry will also partner with press agencies to provide consumers with information about the supply of essential goods.

Although the increasing demand for goods and complex developments of global fuel and material prices have pushed up prices, the market is still under control, according to the ministry.

Total retail sales of goods and services in May reached 477.3 trillion VND (20.58 billion USD), up 4.2 percent month-on-month, and 22.6 percent year-on-year, it explained.

In the first five months of this year, the value was 2.25 quadrillion VND, a rise of 9.7 percent from the same period last year.

The sales of goods alone increased 9.8 percent during the five-month period, with food and foodstuff up 13.1 percent.

Notably, sales of lodging and catering services rose 15.7 percent, and tourism expanded 34.7 percent as the demand increased during the National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day holidays./.