HCM City (VNA) –Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) are expected to have another year of stronggrowth in 2018 and rise 6-7 percent over the preceding year, according to aKantar Worldpanel report on Vietnam FMCG market.
The report pointed out that theFMCG market showed improvement in four large cities (HCM City, Hanoi, Da Nangand Can Tho) and in rural areas in the fourth quarter of last year.
For all of 2017, the urban marketstrengthened its performance while the rural market picked up but is not stablejust yet.
Positive growth has been seenacross the personal care category, with facial moisturizer and make-up itemsbeing the most outstanding categories, gaining consumer spending in urban andrural markets.
The growth of facial moisturiserswas largely attributed to more consumers starting to focus on beauty care inrural areas.
The snack market is now the mainsource of growth for packaged foods in both urban and rural markets. Moreinnovations and the increase in convenient indulgence in food consumption aredriving the growth of snack foods. Brands can leverage this trend by creatingand capturing additional snacking occasions.
According to the report, in theshort term, the beverage sector remains the growth driver of the urban market.Personal care continues developing very well in both urban and rural markets asconsumers increasingly adopt a diverse repertoire of products.
Regarding the retail landscape,wet markets continue to lose share to other channels whileminimarket/convenience stores accelerate their expansion in urban key cities.
Modern trade increased 15 percentin the last quarter, outpacing traditional channels. The retail market isexpected to heat up further for 2018 with new entrants and new retail models.In rural markets, medium-sized street shops continue to win shopping occasions.
Vietnam’s economy surpassed2017’s GDP target, posting the highest growth rate since 2011. Key economicindicators show good achievements, such as import/export, FDI, retail sales andothers.
2018 performance could bebrighter with an estimated expansion of 6.7 percent. However, in the middle andlong terms, there are still some challenges (low labour productivity andenvironmental issues) that need to be foreseen and overcome to reachsustainable economic development, the report said.-VNA