According to agents, there has been an average 3-10 percent increase,including a 10 percent increase for 17 kinds of fresh and powder milkunder Danone Vietnam Co's Dumex and Dulac brand name, 5-7 percent forsome Friesland Campina Vietnam products and the Republic of Korea’s XO which pushed prices up by 2.5 percent.
The price ofDumex Mama Gold baby formula milk powder stands at 233,000 VND (12.2USD) per 800-gramme can up from 212,000 VND (11.1 USD) before, DuproGold 3 increased to 499,000 VND (26.2 USD) per 800-gramme can from aprevious 454,000 VND (24 USD), and Dulac Gold increased to 328,000 VND(17.2 USD) from 298,000 VND (15.6 USD) per can.
Theincrease has been attributed by milk producers to the appreciation ofsome major foreign currencies, especially the US dollar, and priceincreases of input materials.
Nguyen Ngoc Kinh Luan, headof the foreign relations department of Friesland Campina Vietnam ,said his company adjusted the milk product prices on July 15. Theincrease was caused by rising input costs and the Vietnamese dong/USdollar exchange rate.
According to statistics from thePrice Management Department, imported milk prices increased 7-9 percentearly this year and in March continued to rise at an average 8-10percent.
However, the department said the current importmilk price rises were unreasonable because current world prices werelower compared with those in May.
In the first sevenmonths of the year, Vietnam 's milk products import turnover reached432 million USD, an increase of 60 percent over the same period lastyear, according to the Vietnam General Department of Customs.
A Ministry of Industry and Trade survey show that the retail prices ofsome imported dairy products are four times higher than the invoicedimport costs.
However, baby formula product dairy makers Mead Johnson, Nestle, Dumex and XO still retain a large market share in Vietnam./.