Retail sales value increases by 17%

HA NOI  (VNS)— The total value of retail sales of goods and services in the domestic market during the first nine months of this year reached VND1,710 trillion (US$81.5 billion), a 17 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office.

The total value of retail sales of this month alone surged more than 1 per cent over the previous month to approach VND193 trillion ($9.2 billion).

Individual traders made the most significant contribution to the retail value - 48.8 per cent - followed by the private economic sector with 35.6 per cent, an increase of 17.1 per cent and 23.1 per cent compared to last year, respectively.

The foreign-invested sector had a modest turnover of nearly VND48 trillion ($2.3 billion) but achieved the biggest increase in rate - 33.8 per cent - while the State economic sector grew at a sluggish rate of only 0.1 per cent.

Director of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Vo Van Quyen said at a recent press conference that the ministry would focus on boosting both industrial production and local consumption and speeding up inventory clearance for the remainder of this year.

Meanwhile, enterprises would also receive improved access to loans to develop their production and business, he added. — VNS