HCM City (VNA) – With the Lunar New Year (Tet) set to fall in mid-February 2026, businesses in Ho Chi Minh City are accelerating production, finalising stockpiling plans and rolling out price-stabilisation measures to meet shopping demand amid persistently high input costs.
From early December, major retail chains in the city have recorded a noticeable increase in shoppers seeking Tet products. Many consumers are taking advantage of promotional programmes to purchase gift items with long shelf lives, such as confectionery, soft drinks and processed foods, well ahead of the holiday peak.
“I did not initially plan to shop for Tet, but seeing abundant supplies and attractive promotions at supermarkets, I decided to buy some long-shelf-life items early to avoid the year-end rush,” said Nguyen Thanh Kien, a resident of Tan My ward.
According to retailers, consumption has recovered positively, with shopping activity particularly buoyant at modern retail systems and reputable outlets.
Nguyen Trung Dung, General Director of Dh Foods JSC, said enhanced market supervision by authorities has encouraged consumers to shift towards branded products, resulting in steady revenue growth. Retail chains have also reported rising sales of Tet staples such as confectionery and beverages.
MM Mega Market Vietnam has increased inventories by 20% year-on-year to meet peak demand, its CEO Nguyen Duc Toan said, noting that the company is prioritising logistics solutions to ensure timely delivery from central warehouses to partners and customers.
At food-processing factories across the city, output has risen by 15–30% compared to the third quarter, with overtime shifts introduced from early November to meet Tet delivery schedules.
Tan Quang Minh Manufacture and Trading Co. Ltd., a non-alcoholic beverage producer, began ramping up Tet production from October, targeting a 15% growth compared to 2024 on the back of positive market signals. The company has been operating three shifts a day during peak periods to maximise capacity.
Similarly, Vissan JSC is witnessing an intense production atmosphere for Tet favourites such as sausages and traditional cured meats. The company has prepared Tet goods worth 530 billion VND (20.15 million USD), equivalent to 850 tonnes of fresh food and 3,500 tonnes of processed products, up about 8% from last year. To cater to cautious consumer spending, Vissan has introduced new products across various price segments.
According to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, retail systems plan to increase Tet inventories by 20–50% compared to the previous year, helping stabilise prices and ensure adequate supply throughout the 2026 holiday peak. Price-stabilised goods are expected to account for 25–43% of market share, providing sufficient leverage to regulate supply and demand.
Despite robust supply and demand, businesses face mounting pressure from rising input and logistics costs, with imported raw materials up 10–30% and domestic sourcing constrained by supply shortages and transport challenges, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Food Association.
To keep prices stable, enterprises are streamlining operations, prioritising local raw materials, cutting unnecessary costs and investing in modern machinery to reduce wastage.
Thanks to these efforts, the Tet market in Ho Chi Minh City remains diverse, well-supplied and largely price-stable. This has enabled retailers to launch extensive promotions, with discounts of 10–50% offered throughout December. MM Mega Market Vietnam, for instance, plans three major promotional campaigns ahead of Tet, focusing on Vietnamese and OCOP products, alongside support packages for workers and low-income earners.
Market experts say that businesses’ commitment to price stability not only reinforces consumer confidence but also plays a crucial role in maintaining overall market stability. With sustained promotional activities and ample supply, the upcoming Tet shopping season is expected to provide a strong boost to consumption, helping businesses close the year on a positive note and enter 2026 with renewed optimism./.
VNA
