Vietnam’s total retail sales of goods and services are estimated at VND295 trillion (US$18.44 billion) in the first four months of 2008, an on year increase of 29.5 per cent, said the General Statistics Office (GSO).
The average spending per capita reached VND858,000 a month in the period.
The individual economic sector was the biggest seller, accounting for 55.8 per cent of total revenues, following by the private sector with 29.3 per cent, the state-owned sector for 11.5 per cent, the foreign-invested sector for 2.4 per cent and the collective sector for 1 per cent.
The trade sector contributed 82.6 per cent of total retail sales while the hotel and restaurant sector, the service, and the tourism sectors made up 17.4 per cent.
Ho Chi Minh City saw the biggest revenues, followed by Hanoi, Ha Tay, Dong Nai, An Giang, Can Tho, Binh Duong, Haiphong, Quang Ninh, Vung Tau, Tay Ninh, Kien Giang, Dong Thap, Nghe An, Tien Giang, Danang, Khanh Hoa and Ca Mau.
The high growth of retail sales is mainly attributed to the surging prices of goods and services.
The country’s consumer price index (CPI) increased 14.11 per cent on-year in January, 15.67 per cent in February, 19.39 per cent in March and 21.42 per cent in April. The CPI in the first four months rose 17.61 per cent against the same period last year. (Investment, Financial Times)
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