Vietnamese Consumers Pay Highest Prices for Milk in the World - Survey
Vietnamese consumers now have to pay the highest prices for milk products in the world despite their low income, a survey by the FTA Market Research Company showed at a recent conference in Ho Chi Minh City.
The survey showed that milk products are now selling for highest prices in Vietnam at US$0.82 a kilogram, higher than US$0.4 a kilogram in Eastern Europe and South America; and US$0.8 a kilogram in China and Northern America.
Tran Ngoc Dung, a staff of FTA Co. said in 2007, Vietnam’s milk demand increased around 6 per cent, but the country’s expenditure on the product rose by 20 per cent.
The survey also said that in 2007-2008, prices of condensed milk soared by 5 per cent-6 per cent while prices of powdered milk rose by 23 per cent-26 per cent.
“The increased prices will raise Vietnam’s total expenditure on milk products to around US$920 million in 2008 and US$1 billion in 2009,” Dung said.
The survey said almost all of Vietnamese mothers are willing to use 50 per cent of their income for buying milk for their kids.
But Dung warned that consuming habit to choose imported milk by Vietnamese mothers will thrust their pocket because prices of imported milk are usually double that of locals.
A box of 400gr milk is offered at only VND70,000-100,000 by Vietnamese producers, but the prices are VND150,000-160,000 by foreign producers.
Meanwhile the Vietnam Strategy and Policy Development Institute announced that local milk is not less nutritious than imports.
A Vietnamese person are estimated to use 9-10 kilogram of milk yearly (The Laborer)
Vietnamese
