Vietnam is estimated to have imported US$98 million worth of dairy products in the first two months of this year, up 21.2 per cent compared to the same period of last year while prices of those products are escalating in the local market, the General Statistics Office said.
In February, the country spent US$40 million on imported dairy products, down from US$58 million in January.
Since the beginning of February, Vietnamese importers and distributors of dairy products have announced consecutive price increases despite stable prices on the world market.
Enfa and Dumex announced to raise the prices of several products by 6 per cent-10 per cent. Enfa Lac A+, for example, which was previously sold at VND250,000 per tin, is now selling at VND273,000.
A Dumex’s marketing officer at Big C supermart said that among Dumex’s products, Dumex 1 for less-than-six-month babies sees the biggest price increase of 9 per cent.
Abbot has also announced the price increase for its products as of March 1. Its Advance IQ series see the price increase of 5 per cent-10 per cent, or VND10-20,000 per unit.
Explaining the sale price increase, importers said that the material prices are increasing on the world market, while milk producers all have raised the sale prices, resulting in higher import prices.
High inflation rate and high tax have also been cited as the reasons behind the milk price increases.
However, a local milk producer has denied the facts, saying that the material prices are stable in all the markets of the world, except for Australia, where there is the crop failure due to the drought.
Representative from a Ho Chi Minh City-based milk company, which makes dairy products from the materials 100 per cent imported from Malaysia, also said that there have been no fluctuations in material prices, and the company has been stabilizing the sale prices for three months.
A paradox exists in the local market is that the fierce competition among milk producers does not result in price decreases, on the contrary, it makes prices escalate. Vietnamese consumers believe that the most expensive products are the best. Therefore, dairy producers and distributors have a lot of business opportunities in Vietnam.
Last year, Vietnamese consumers spent US$498 million on imported dairy products, up 55 per cent against 2006.
Taxes on imported dairy products to Vietnam have been slashed down to only 3 per cent and 5 per cent since November of 2007, down from 10 per cent and 15 per cent previously. (GSO February Edition, Vietnamnet)
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