Retail sales of food and foodstuffs in HCM City were worth VND66.744 trillion (US$2.9 billion) in the first seven months of this year, or 17.46 per cent of total retail sales.

The figure represents an increase of 13.7 per cent year-on-year, according to the city’s Department of Industry and Trade.

In the last decade, average consumption of foods saw an annual increase of 12.98 per cent.

The major food and beverage products consumed in the city include eggs, instant noodles, canned drinks, milk and sausages.

Major increases in output in the first seven months were seen in milk (6.9 per cent) and canned beer (5.6 per cent).

But notwithstanding the rising sales, food processing and beverage companies faced challenges such as increased value-added tax and smuggled and fake goods.

A spokesman for the city’s Department of Industry and Trade said in the remaining months of the year, the department would call on city authorities to hold discussions with major enterprises and business groups in the food and foodstuff sector to resolve the problems they currently face.

It would also promote an alliance between localities and industrial parks to establish raw material zones and value chains for foods and foodstuffs.

According to Nguyen Phuong Dong, deputy director of the city’s Department of Industry and Trade, the number of retail enterprises in the city is rising by 10.9 per cent annually, significantly contributing to the development of the country’s retail sector.

The city has 239 markets, 216 supermarkets, 44 business centres and 2,065 convenience shops.

They account for 2.8 per cent of the country’s markets, 22 per cent of supermarkets and 23 per cent of business centres. — VNS.