For example, Co.opMart is offering a10 percent discount on essential products, including food. BigC and its distributors are accepting a 10 percent drop in their profits to help consumers.

Meanwhile, some shops have raised the prices of items such as cooking oil, fresh milk, instant noodle, and confectionery by three to five percent. This is due to the fact that they can only afford to keep a small amount of stock and they are dependent on transportation by motorbikes and small vans, which are affected by the petrol price rises. But some shops have accepted a reduction in their profits in order to stabilize their prices.

Most supermarkets say they have been requested by their distributors to raise prices as they are afraid of incurring losses due to higher input costs.

Prior to the requests to raise prices, Bui HanhThu, Vice Director of Saigon Co.op, asked distributors to give their reasons and appropriate plans for such an increase to avoid “shocks” to consumers.

Ngo Van Hai, spokesman for Citimart, predicts that in early August, the prices of many commodities will go up by 5-10 percent, which he said is reasonable for consumers and is not as high as in earlier this year.