Value of goods and services rises

However, the strong surge experienced in several previous years was absent, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said. 

The office said the total retail value of goods and services in the first two months gained a year-on-year surge of 9.7% to reach VND587 trillion (US$26.6 billion). That is not a high growth rate as usual because of the high demand during the Tet festival in February. 

Vu Manh Ha, a GSO expert, said the retail value of goods and services in the first two months of every year saw strong growth year-on-year because of a high demand for goods and services during Tet. The growth rate was about 27% in 2010, 23% in 2011, 22% in 2012, and 12.6% in 2013, as well as 11% in 2014. 

This year, the low growth of purchasing power for goods and services in the local market in the first two months was due to high supply and diversification of goods, Ha said. Therefore, the prices of goods and services rose slightly before and after the Tet festival, leading the national consumer price index (CPI) in the first two months to rise by 0.42% year-on-year. 

That was a positive result of the State's policies on the operation and management of markets for stabilising prices and the market, Ha said.

Some goods achieved strong growth in terms of purchasing power, with food and rice rising by 12.5%, garment by 10.6% and home appliances by 10.4%. 

Some provinces and cities saw a great increase in purchasing power with regard to goods and services, with Hanoi's rising by 12.5%, Binh Duong's by 26.9%, Thanh Hoa's by 22.2% and Hai Phong's by 15.7%.