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Concerns raised about high prices of imported milk
The HCM City People’s Committee has proposed to the Government that foreign milk be put on the official list of products which require price registration.
A suggestion was also made to the Government that the Ministry of Health should announce the results of domestic milk quality tests early. This would help consumers make decisions on which milk to buy, Hong said.
The city previously announced the results of an examination of milk producers and milk stores in the city conducted by the Department of Health, the Department of Finance and the Department of Science and Technology.
An investigation of seven milk importers, milk traders and milk distributors found that the retail prices of some foreign milk were 2.5 times higher than the production cost.
Advertising and promotional costs contribute to the significant increase in price, which accounted for between 32 and 56 per cent of the retail prices of milk from some companies, investigators reported.
After a series of news reports revealing that Viet Nam’s retail milk prices were the highest in the world, there has been a change in domestic market consumption patterns, with some consumers choosing domestic milk over imported milk.
"Income at our store has dropped strongly for one month," said Nguyen Phi Yen, a milk vendor in Ha Noi. The primary reason is because the price for imported milk has increased sharply, three times since April. Many customers are turning to domestic milk.
The Viet Nam National Institute for Nutrition has just announced that the quality of domestic milk is similar to foreign milk.
A study of 560 children discovered that children who consumed domestic milk grew just as well as those who drank foreign milk, said Nguyen Thi Lam, deputy head of the institute.
vietnamnews
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