The country’s total retail sales and services revenue rose 12.2 per cent year-on-year to VND793.8 trillion (US$35.2 billion) in the first two months of this year.

Retail sales of goods and services reached an estimated VND390.8 trillion in February, marking a yearly increase of 11.5 per cent but a monthly decline of 3 per cent, the latest report from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed.

GSO statistician Vu Manh Ha attributed the two-month retail sales growth, which would be 92.8 per cent excluding inflation, to local people’s strong purchasing power during the long-lasting Tet holiday.

The retail value of goods topped VND613.4 trillion, up 15 per cent year-on-year and accounting for 77.3 per cent of the total. Of which, the sales of food and foodstuffs increased by 15 per cent, home appliances 14 per cent, and garments and textiles 13.2 per cent.

Localities recording a significant retail sales increase included the central provinces of Ha Tinh and Quang Nam with 19.4 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively; the southern province of Long An with 17 per cent; the northern port city of Hai Phong with 14 per cent; HCM City with 13 per cent and Ha Noi with 11 per cent.

From January to February, restaurant and accommodation revenues were VND90.2 trillion, surging 5.7 per cent against the same period last year and making up 11.4 per cent of the total with positive revenue growth seen in several localities such as Hai Phong (16.5 per cent); the southern city of Can Tho (13.2 per cent); the central provinces of Khanh Hoa and Quang Nam (12 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively).

Tourism revenues stood at VND8 trillion, up 7.8 percent, the office said, adding that revenue from other services, which equaled 10.3 per cent of the total, witnessed a yearly rise of 5 per cent to VND82.2 trillion.

In 2018, the nation’s total goods retail sales and service revenues rose 11.7 per cent on-year to nearly VND4.4 quadrillion. Specifically, its goods retail sales surged 12.4 per cent to over VND3.3 quadrillion.

Under the domestic trade development strategy, total sales of goods and services would grow by 13 per cent each year through 2020 and by 14 per cent per year in the 2021-25 period. — VNS