the total retail value of goods and services in the first two months gained a year-on-year surge of 9.7 per cent to reach VND587 trillion (US$26.6 billion). — VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The national retail value of goods and services in the first two months of this year experienced the same growth rate as last year.

However, the strong surge experienced in several previous years was absent, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said.

The office said the total retail value of goods and services in the first two months gained a year-on-year surge of 9.7 per cent to reach VND587 trillion (US$26.6 billion). That is not a high growth rate as usual because of the high demand during the Tet festival in February.

Vu Manh Ha, a GSO expert, said the retail value of goods and services in the first two months of every year saw strong growth year-on-year because of a high demand for goods and services during Tet. The growth rate was about 27 per cent in 2010, 23 per cent in 2011, 22 per cent in 2012, and 12.6 per cent in 2013, as well as 11 per cent in 2014.

This year, the low growth of purchasing power for goods and services in the local market in the first two months was due to high supply and diversification of goods, Ha said. Therefore, the prices of goods and services rose slightly before and after the Tet festival, leading the national consumer price index (CPI) in the first two months to rise by 0.42 per cent year-on-year.

That was a positive result of the State's policies on the operation and management of markets for stabilising prices and the market, Ha said.

Some goods achieved strong growth in terms of purchasing power, with food and rice rising by 12.5 per cent, garment by 10.6 per cent and home appliances by 10.4 per cent.

Some provinces and cities saw a great increase in purchasing power with regard to goods and services, with Ha Noi's rising by 12.5 per cent, Binh Duong's by 26.9 per cent, Thanh Hoa's by 22.2 per cent and Hai Phong's by 15.7 per cent. — VNS