Consumers now can buy imported goods at lower price thank to tax reducing roadmap of Vietnam as WTO commitments. However, according to many specialists this price is not as cheap as it could and it is going to be cheaper.

Cheaper price

Vice-Chief Executive Officer of Big C Supermarket network, Mr. Nguyen Thai Dung, said that from March, price of some imported goods will be cheaper because the cost of capital flow transportation will not increase as much as it did in the Tet holiday. Price reducing, then, will be more obvious when tax decreases.

In Big C Supermarket network, price of approximate 300 kinds of products of household appliances such as carpet, glass washer, floor washer, feeding-bottle, candle, candlestick, baby toys, etc. has decreased due to 10-15% of tax reducing.

Some kinds of biscuits in Maximark Supermarket network has also decreased average 1,000 – 3,000 VND/package. For example the old price of Ritz 100g was 7,100 VND/package, but now its price is only 6,100 VND/package. And Ritz 300g is only 17,200 VND/package instead of 20,200 VND/package. Candies made in South Korea, Japan, Chile, etc. reduce at the same level.

Ms. Nguyen Phuong Thao, Executive Director of Maximark Cong Hoa Supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City said that in the coming time there will be about 50 kinds of biscuits and candies with attractive price as Ritz. In Co-op Mart Supermarket network price of canned food and industrial cosmetics, aluminum household appliances will decrease average 10% thank to tax reducing.

Differential 5-10%

As analyses of market experts, the most important key to importers is finding the most competitive sources of goods.

If importers do not find out sources with preferable and competitive price to offer the substantial orders, the amount of tax reduce can not compensate other expenses. They have to increase the price in order not to sell at loss. That's why despite tax reducing, some supermarkets sell at higher price than others from 5-10%.

Mr. Dung also added that Big C Supermarket network has received a great deal of assistance from the mother company in finding suppliers so that the imported goods are very competitive when they reach the ultimate consumers. However, the number of imported goods at the new tax level is not diversified and the quantity is limited as well.

As Ms. Thao said, beyond products such as foreign biscuit and candies, industrial cosmetics, Maximark will keep the price of others unchanged because some suppliers haven't imported at the reduced tax yet.

However, consumers do not have a really free option because businesspeople are still careful with "open market". Importers said if they do not thoroughly calculate and research imported goods, their enterprises will easily do business at a loss because even the tax reduces imported goods are not as attractive as it seems to be. For instant, domestic ready-to-wear products are inundating in supermarkets. Thus, though garments tax is very attractive, reducing from 50% to 20%, not many supermarkets are willing to import ready-to-wear products, except for high-grade goods of popular brand-name because normal ones are offered at a very competitive price by domestic suppliers.