People choose candy to enjoy during Tet last year at Big C Supermarket in Ha Noi. Domestic confectioners are gearing up for coming Lunar New Year holiday which falls on January 31 next year. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— Leading domestic confectioners including Bibica, Kinh Do, Trang An, Biscafun and Hai Chau have basically completed plans to prepare goods for the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year), which falls on January 31, 2014.

Despite forecasts that purchasing power this Tet will not be as high as in previous years, major confectioners still plan to increase production by 5-20 per cent over the last Lunar New Year season.

Nguyen Quoc Hoang, deputy general director of the the Bien Hoa Confectionery Corporation, or Bibica, told Dau Tu (Vietnam Investment Review) that they plan to supply nearly 1,300 tonnes of confectionery by the end of this year and for Tet, up 10 per cent over the previous year.

Its wide distribution network of 110 distributors and 65,000 sales points has enabled the company's products to be present in all areas of the country, he said.

The Kinh Do Confectionery Joint Stock Company has said it plans to produce 4,500 tonnes of confectionery for this Tet, a year-on-year increase of about 20 per cent.

The company, which accounts for 30 per cent of the domestic confectionery market, has also said it expects to keep prices stable for this Tet.

Besides traditional confectionery lines, the company will continue providing to the market top-ranking products like Korento cookies and many other kinds of cake and candy, it said.

The Quang Ngai Confectionery Factory (Biscafun) has completed a high-grade product catalogue for Lunar New Year 2014.

A representative of the Trang An Confectionery Joint Stock Company in Ha Noi, also confirmed that they have completed preparation of goods for this Tet season.

The company is committed to not increasing prices since confectionery production costs have been somewhat stable this year, the representative said.

With consumers tending to tighten spending amidst the ongoing economic crunch, confectionery producers have focused more on launching products with attractive designs, good quality and reasonable prices that can serve as Tet gifts.

Industry insiders are hopeful that with prices 20-40 per cent cheaper than imported products, and having the advantage of having clear origins, local confectionery products will dominate the market this Tet season.

They say the bigger domestic firms have invested in modern lines and good quality raw material to make high-quality products. Locally-made confectionery also is delicious, good-looking and hygienic, they add.—VNS