VietNamNet Bridge – Hunting for discounts and promotions in supermarkets, going to wholesale markets to purchase food at lower prices, having breakfasts at home instead of going to street vendors, and preparing meals with magnetic cookers instead of gas cookers - have all become the “know-how” of housewives in the current difficult period.

Using magnetic cookers instead of gas cookers

Though the gas price has been reduced by 5000 dong per tank, it is still high: 330,000 dong per tank on average. Therefore, magnetic cooker has become the alternative for housewives.

Saigon Tiep Thi newspaper has reported that home appliance centres in HCM City now sell many magnetic cookers because the customers believe that the cookers will help them save money.

Representative of Thien Hoa Home Appliance Centre has confirmed that magnetic cookers have been selling very well for the past year, especially those made in Vietnam, priced at 850,000-1.2 million dong. the low-cost products made in China and Taiwan, selling at 500,000-800,000 dong, are popular among customers. Meanwhile, high-quality import products are expensive, 20 million dong and higher. Representative of an company specialized in distributing the imports from Germany said that in HCM City, the company sold 30 cookers a month

Hunting for discounts and promotions

Supermarkets have become the favourite destinations for housewives, because of many dicscounts and promotion campaigns

From November 17 to December 24, Big C has been offering discounts of 5-45 percent on 1300 product items.

the prices of meat and vegetables at supermarkets are surprisingly low. Tomato, for example, is selling at 4000 dong per kilo, while cabbage at 3000 dong, and chicken at 45,900 dong per kilo, which is much lower than the prices at traditional markets. people have been rushing to supermarkets to buy tomatoes, because the price here is 1/3 of the price at traditional markets.

The number of supermarkets customers has been increasing so sharply these days that some have to set up the maximum volume of products people can purchase within a day in order to prevent speculation. At Fivimart, for example, every customer can purchase no more than two packs of sugar a day.

Going to wholesale markets instead of retail markets

Wholesale markets these days have been serving not only small merchants and retailers, but housewives as well. A lot of women said they have to get up very early in the morning to be able to go to wholesale markets, where they can purchase food at lower prices.

Thuy, a housewife in Khuong Dinh ward in Hanoi, related that she had purchased shrimps at 120,000 dong per kilo only, while the price at retail market is 220,000 dong per kilo.

Having meals at homes instead of restaurants

Many Hanoians have the habit of eating pho (noodle soup) at street vendors for breakfast. However, many of them have to give up the habit because of the “price storms”.

Phuong Anh in Dinh Cong new urban area in Hanoi, related that a bowl of pho is 20,000 dong. she had to spend 100,000 dong for the breakfast of the five-member family. However, she has decided to prepare the breakfast for the family herself, which allows her to cut down expenses by a half.

A lot of office workers these days do not go out for lunch. In lunchtime they simply eat the meals they had brought from home

La Hoan