Price hike influences on residents’ lives

    Consumer Price Index in October of 2007 rose 0.7% against September 2007 (0.7% in urban area and 0.6% in the country). CPI of 9/10 group of goods and services increased compared to the previous month. Two groups’ prices increasing higher than the average level were restaurants and food services up 0.97%; housing, electricity, fuel, building materials up 1.4%. Groups increasing lower than the average level were health services, garment, hats & caps, footwear, drinks, cigarettes, entertainment, tourism services, equipment and household appliances, education services, goods and so on.

    On the whole nation scale, CPI by the end of October 2007 increased as many as 8.12%. The consumer prices by the end of October 2007 rose 8.12% over that of December 2006. The price increase this year concentrates on commodities, especially food and foodstuff. This has directly affected residents’ daily life. Pham Thi Hoa – Quang Vinh ward (Bien Hoa City) said that she and her husband are workers and their both salary each month is just more than VND3 million. Most income of her family is spent on living expenses. In her opinion, the current prices increase sharply, for example, pork prices have increased around VND5,000 per kilo and vegetable prices up from VND3,000 to VND5,000 per kilo.

    The price hike has directly impacted on consumers; especially low-income earners like Hoa’s family, the price increase will make their life harder. Meanwhile, there are still 2 months left by end of 2007. In year-end months, price tends to significantly increase due to the need for shopping and consumption and a high volume of cash put into circulation. In Dong Nai province, there are around more than 350,000 workers in companies and factories at industrial zones. Most workers have low incomes, and the price hike has directly influenced their lives in particular and residents’ lives in general.

Reported by Phuong Thanh, Translated by THKC