VietNamNet Bridge – A modest 5-10 percent growth rate expected in sales for the upcoming Tet holiday, instead of the 20-30 percent of previous years, has caused suppliers to scale back production plans.

Truong Chi Thien, director of Vinh Thanh Food JSC, a major poultry egg supplier, said in general, the goods volume stored for Tet was 20 percent higher than that of ordinary days. However, he decided that the figure would be lower, at about 10 percent, this year.

“The market demand has been too weak in the last few months and there has been no sign of improvement for the following months. Therefore, we plan to store 5-6 million eggs a month,” said Thien, adding that prices would remain stable.

In an effort to boost sales, Vinh Thanh plans to open vending shops at traditional markets and remote areas. It is also considering marketing ready-made products this year with prices just 20 percent higher than normal eggs.

Director of Ba Huan Food Company Phan Thanh Hung said he had decided to be cautious about his Tet production plan because weak demand was anticipated.

“The output will be just 10-20 percent compared with last year,” he said.

Hung also revealed that Ba Huan would not rely on supermarkets as the only distribution channel but would also sell products at traditional markets, where the majority of housewives buy food, and at small shops in remote areas.

Le Thi Thanh Lam, deputy general director of SG Food, also said that Vietnamese would fasten their belts this Tet because of news about the slow recovery of the national economy.

“We began preparing for the Tet production season in August. However, the output is expected to increase very slightly by 5-10 percent over the last year,” Lam said.

SG Food does not intend to raise selling prices amid current economic difficulties.

Lam went on to say that the Lunar New Year (Tet) will come 1.5 months later than the 2015 New Year, so some analysts predict that the demand for food for family parties will be higher than in previous years.

However, Lam thinks it would be better to keep a close watch over market performance to determine production output, because a lack of sales could lead to big losses.

Van Duc Muoi, general director of Vissan, one of the biggest pork suppliers, also said the volume of goods to be stored for Tet sales would be only 10 percent higher than  last year’s.

Meanwhile, sweets manufacturers, including Bibica and Huu Nghi, said they had not made any decisions about output because they still lacked information about Tet demand.

Small merchants at traditional markets also said they would prepare for the high sale season one month before Tet, because they can foresee a low demand.

“If people do not have much money to spend during Tet, they will only think of buying sweets just some days before Tet, after they have received their Tet bonus,” said a merchant at Dong Xuan Market, the biggest wholesale market in Hanoi.

VNE