Customers examine dairy products at a supermarket in HCMC. Vietnam’s total retail sales of goods and services in the first two months of 2020 rose by 8.3% year-on-year to VND863.9 trillion, the lowest growth rate in six years

If the price factor is excluded, the total retail sales inched up by 5.5% compared with 9.3% in the same period last year, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

The first two months of the year saw retail sales of goods amount to an estimated VND674 trillion, up 9.8% year-on-year. This growth rate was much lower than that recorded in the same period in 2019 as coronavirus fears have discouraged customers from shopping in crowded areas.

Haiphong City and Quang Ninh and Thanh Hoa provinces saw the retail sales of goods expand by 13.6%, 13.8% and 11.9%, respectively.

Revenues from accommodation and catering services were estimated at VND95 trillion in the first two months of 2020, up a mere 1.7% year-on-year, while the growth rate in the same period of 2019 was 10.8%.

The slowed growth was attributable to the fallout from the coronavirus, which has caused the issuance of visas to Chinese tourists to be suspended.

Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong and Hanoi witnessed a sharp drop in revenues from accommodation and catering services over the two-month period.

The country reported a slight rise of 1.1% in tourism revenues at VND7.4 trillion in the first two months of the year.

Revenues from other services amounted to an estimated VND87.5 trillion, making up 10.1% of the total figure and edging up 5.2% year-on-year. Sales of other services in Quang Ninh Province picked up by 8.7% from the year-ago period, while the respective rises in Quang Ngai, Thua Thien-Hue and Danang were 6.1%, 5.4% and 4.7%.

The General Statistics Office noted that February, the month after the Tet holiday, was severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak. As such, trading and service activities this month were not as hectic as in previous months.

February’s retail revenues from goods and services reached an estimated VND414.1 trillion, down 7.9% from the month earlier but up 6% year-on-year.

Last month, retail sales of goods accounted for over VND325 trillion, down 6.7% compared with January and up 8.2% year-on-year. Revenues from accommodation and catering services were VND44.2 trillion, down 3.9% over the previous year, while tourism revenues amounted to VND3.3 trillion, dipping by 21% from a month earlier. SGT

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