The country's total retail sales value of goods and services increased by just 4.6 per cent to VND849.9 trillion (US$40.4 billion). — VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI (VNS) — The country's total retail sales value of goods and services increased by just 4.6 per cent to VND849.9 trillion (US$40.4 billion), according to a General Statistics Office (GSO) report.

Vu Manh Ha, an expert at the GSO's Internal Economics Department, said this was the lowest increase for many years. In previous years, total retail sales value of goods and services often increased by 7 per cent to 10 per cent.

Ha attributed the country's low consumption during the first four months of the year to low purchasing in both domestic and foreign markets along with the global economic slowdown.

Despite the long holidays during the Lunar New Year, purchasing power did not increase.

A large part of State employees and workers saw their incomes decrease. This was attributed to the large volume of high inventories and high lending interest rates at a time when many enterprises have had to close down or curtail production.

According to the GSO, in the first four months, the number of businesses having stopped production rose by more than 14 per cent against the same period last year, while the number of newly-established businesses declined by 6.8 per cent. — VNS