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Retail sales value declines in real terms
Retail sales grew by 26 per cent nationwide during the period of May to November, in comparison with the same period last year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) announced.
Adjusted for inflation, however, the volume and value of retail sales actually fell by between 14.7 and 16.7 per cent. Inflation was heating up, according to official figures, with the prices of goods and services rising by 1.86 per cent last month alone.
The strongest growth in retail sales was in the private sector, which saw sales rise by 39.2 per cent in the first 11 months of the year, while State-owned enterprises and collectives have seen declining sales, noted GSO expert Vu Manh Ha.
Ha attributed the advantage of the private sector to fewer State price controls, with many enterprises taking advantages of high inflation, high commercial lending rates, and the weakness of the Vietnamese dong against the US dollar to raise the prices on goods.
Over the next three months, the retail sales were likely to see a surge in both value and volume as consumer demand for food, clothing, cosmetics, and transportation all traditionally rise ahead of the lunar new year holidays, the GSO said.
vietnamnews
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