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Confectionery prices set to rise ahead of Tet
The market has enough sugar supplies for the upcoming holiday season, but the record-high price will drive up prices for sweets by the year-end.
The price of sugar has increased by VND4,000 to VND5,000 (US$0.2-0.3) per kilo compared to the price posted two months ago, which is being sold at VND18,500-19,500 (US$1-1.02) per kilo.
Some supermarkets in the city are offering lower prices of VND17,800 to VND18,200 because they have stockpiled for several months and signed agreements with suppliers to keep prices stable and ensure supplies during Tet (Lunar New Year festival).
"The increase in price for various kinds of confectionery products is unavoidable because the sugar price makes up 30 per cent of candy products," said Phan Van Thien, deputy general director of the Bien Hoa Confectionery Joint-Stock Co (Bibica).
The company, which uses more than 300 tonnes of sugar a month, plans to raise the price of confectionery products by 5 per cent this month, Thien said.
The HancoFood Joint-Stock Company will also adjust the price of various kinds of confectionery from 3-5 per cent higher because the price of sugar accounts for 20 per cent of the products’ prices.
The price of sugarcane in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta has doubled compared to a few months ago, causing sugar prices to soar, said Ha Huu Phai, general secretary of the Viet Nam Sugarcane and Sugar Association (VCSA).
Global prices for sugar hit a record-high due to a forecast of a worldwide sugar shortage next year, contributing to a hike in the domestic market, Phai said.
He said the supply until Tet would be sufficient because many new factories have been put into operation.
According to VCSA, there will be a total of 37 out of 40 factories beginning production at the end of this month.
Each sugar factory has a daily capacity of 4,000 tonnes of sugar, which will be sufficient to supply the market, according to Le Xuan, head of the Agricultural, Forest and Seafood Processing and Trade Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
VietNamNet, VietNamNews
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