Consumers shop at Co.op Mart Quang Trung in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) –Domestic trade and services have played an important role in meeting people’sconsumption demand and contributing to the economy’s growth in recent years, anofficial of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has said.
Nguyen Van Hoi, Deputy Director of the MoIT’sDomestic Market Department, made the remark at a workshop in Hanoi on May 18.
He noted that the policy of developing thedomestic market to stimulate local consumption has been expanded nationwide,which has won the support of businesses and people and generated importantoutcomes.
Between 2011 and 2017, total retail sales ofconsumer goods and services grew by 10 percent each year, reaching nearly 3.57quadrillion VND (156.54 billion USD)in 2016 and 3.23 quadrillion VND (141.63billion USD) in 2017. The figure was estimated at almost 1.4 quadrillionVND (61.39 billion USD) in the firstfour months of 2018, up 9.85 percent year on year.
Although the increase of total retail sales ofgoods has slowed down since 2011, it was still 1.5 – 2 times higher than theaverage GDP growth in the 2006 – 2016 period.
Trading infrastructure have attracted foreigninvestment and developed rapidly, mainly in cities. Although the expansion oftraditional markets has halted recently, they still hold an important role andmaintain their competitiveness compared to modern distribution channels.
There were about 8,540 markets across thecountry by the end of 2017, nearly 75 of which were in rural areas. Most of themarkets focus on retail while only 0.97 percent of which was wholesale markets.
Meanwhile, there were 957 supermarkets in 62 outof 63 provinces and cities, excluding Ha Giang province, and 189 shopping mallsin 51 of the total localities. Most of them are located in big cities anddowntown areas.
Notably, the numbers of supermarkets andshopping malls in the five cities of Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho Chi MinhCity and Can Tho alone account for 47 percent and 50 percent of the total,respectively.
Nguyen Van Hoi said to boost trade and servicesnationwide, the MoIT will continue coordinating with localities and sectors todevelop trading infrastructure.
It will work with relevant ministries andsectors, especially the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry ofFinance, to overhaul policies to attract investment in trading infrastructureand step up training to improve the quality of manpower in the distribution andretail sector, he added.-VNA
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