Retail sales continue positive growth in H1

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s total revenue from retail sales and services in the first half of this year had maintained high growth since the beginning of the year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO)

Retail goods and services posted a revenue of nearly VNĐ2.12 quadrillion (US$94 billion) in the first six months of 2018, a year-on-year rise of 10.7 per cent. If inflation was excluded, the increase would be 8.3 per cent, higher than the 7.9 per cent growth seen in the first five months of 2017, the GSO said.

An abundant supply of essential goods and stable prices had spurred local trade and lifted purchasing power during the period, Vũ Mạnh Hà, a GSO statistician, said.

Retail sales of goods, which accounted for 75.3 per cent of the total revenue, reached an estimated VNĐ1.59 quadrillion ($70.9 billion) with several products recording strong increases, including food and foodstuffs (12.4 per cent), garments (12.3 per cent), home appliances (12 per cent) and transport services (8.8 per cent).

Meanwhile, retail sales in accommodation, restaurants and catering services saw a yearly increase of 9.6 per cent to VNĐ260.9 trillion ($11.5 billion), with the central coastal provinces of Khánh Hòa, Bình Định and Đà Nẵng, the central highlands city of Đà Lạt and the northern province of Quảng Ninh leading the way.

From January to June, revenue from tourism services also recorded significant on-year growth of 19.5 per cent to VNĐ19.6 trillion ($860 million) thanks to a rising numbers of local tourists and those traveling abroad.

Việt Nam’s visa exemption policy for several Western European countries and the country’s domestic and overseas tourism promotion campaigns had also prompted tourism service revenue to grow, the GSO said, outlining some provinces and cities that recorded encouraging growth, such as Cà Mau (29 per cent), HCM City (24.3 per cent), Quảng Ninh (18 per cent) and Hà Nội (14 per cent).

Sales of other services during the six months hit VNĐ243 trillion (over $11 billion), a jump of 7.3 per cent compared to a year ago. — VNS