National retail trade sales see increase in January

he total revenue from retail trade and services saw a year-on-year rise of 10 per cent, to US$15 billion in January, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). — Photo congan.com.vn

The total revenue from retail trade and services saw a year-on-year rise of 10 per cent, to US$15 billion in January, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Excluding inflation, the amount marked a yearly increase of 6.7 per cent, GSO said.

Vu Manh Ha, a GSO statistician, attributed the strong growth in January’s retail trade to stable prices despite local people’s high consumption power in preparation for the Tet holiday and supermarkets’ sufficient sources of consumer goods for the country’s biggest festival.

Retail sales of goods, which accounted for more than three fourths of total sales, reached $11.5 billion in January, surging 6.5 per cent against the previous month and 11 per cent against the same period last year.

Several sectors recording a positive revenue increase included food and foodstuffs (up 13 per cent); textile and garments (up 11.5 per cent); transport services (up 11.2 per cent) and home appliances (up 7.8 per cent).

Meanwhile, retail sales in accommodation, restaurant and catering services, which made up 11.3 per cent of the total, topped more than $1.64 billion, representing a modest yearly rise of 3 per cent.

Some localities that posted encouraging accommodation, restaurant and catering retail sale growth included Ba Ria- Vung Tau with 12 per cent, Thanh Hoa (8.6 per cent); Kien Giang (7.4 per cent); Ha Noi (5.7 per cent) and Da Nang (5.2 per cent). Several others, however, witnessed a sales reduction, such as Quang Binh, down by 12.4 per cent and HCM City and Nam Dinh, down by 5.3 per cent.

In the first month of this year, revenue from tourism services also saw significant growth of 30.7 per cent to $155 million with some provinces and cities recording strong growth, such as HCM City and Ba Ria – Vung Tau (33 per cent) and Quang Ninh (23 per cent).

The reviewed strong increase was attributable to seasonal factors and a growing tendency of Vietnamese travelling abroad during the Tet holiday, GSO noted.

The sales of other services during the month reached over $1.67 billion, a hike of 9.3 per cent compared to a year ago. — VNS