Customers shop for infrared cookers at Nguyen Kim Electronics Supermarket. With cooking-gas prices rising relentlessly, induction and infrared stoves are seeing booming demand.— VNA/VNS Photo Tuan Anh

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— With cooking-gas prices rising relentlessly, induction and infrared stoves are seeing boom in demand, HCM City electronic retailers said.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy, director of the household appliances section at dienmay.com, said "since the middle of last year, demand for these stoves has increased."

In November sales was month-on-month up by 5-7 per cent, she told Viet Nam News.

A marketing staff from Thien Hoa Electronic Centre in HCM City also told Viet Nam News that his chain sold an increasing number of induction and infrared stoves.

An article on a Ministry of Transport website quoted the head of marketing of online seller www.chodientu.vn as saying that electric stoves now accounted for 30 per cent of all sales.

There are many kinds of induction and infrared stoves, both imported and made in Viet Nam.

Thuy of dienmay.com said her company sells many brands like Kangaroo, Media, and Electrolux.

"Price ranges from VND490,000 (US423) to VND2 million ($95).

"High-end stoves cost tens of millions of dong," she told Viet Nam News.

She predicted sales to continue rising in the coming months because Tet (Lunar New Year) is coming around and people need these stoves for cooking hot pots.

Sellers said induction and infrared stoves offered many advantages.

Gas prices are high and the stoves are not as safe as induction or infrared stoves, they said.

Thuy said the latter helps save energy and money compared to gas stoves, is cleaner, and better looking.

"When using an induction stove, consumers can use 95 per cent of its energy.

"The figure is 80 per cent for infrared stoves and only 60 per cent for gas stoves."

Talking about the future of gas stoves, most sellers said though many people were buying induction and infrared stoves, gas stoves would remain essential in Viet Nam due to power cuts.

Thus, many customers are now choosing to use both gas and induction (or infrared) stoves at the same time, they said. — VNS