Hanoi (VNA) - The total retail sales of goods and services increased by 8.5% to nearly 4.15 quadrillion VND (169.7 billion USD) in the January – August period thanks to improving consumption, production and tourism, according to the latest updates of the General Statistics Office (GSO).
The retail sales of goods totalled nearly 3,200 trillion VND, accounting for 77.1 % of the total revenue and up 7.3% against the same period last year.
Revenue from food and foodstuffs rose by 10.2%, household appliances up by 10.1%, garments by 8.7%, vehicles by 4% and educational items by 9.6%.
Provinces and cities which saw significant increases in retail revenues included Quang Ninh, up 10.6%; Hai Phong, up 9.3%; Can Tho, up 7.7%; Da Nang, up 7.6%; Ho Chi Minh City, up 6.8%; and Hanoi, up 6.3%.
Revenue from accommodation and catering services rose by 14.3% while tourism rose by 26.2% in the period.
The GSO’s report also revealed that international arrivals to Vietnam reached 1.43 million in August, up 17.7%.
For the eight months, international arrivals totalled 11.4 million, up 45.8% against the same period last year and 1% higher than 2019 before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Provinces and cities with significant increases in accommodation, catering and tourism revenues were Quang Ninh, Da Nang, Hanoi, HCM City, Can Tho and Binh Duong.
Passenger transportation reached 3,234 million in the period, up 7.5% while cargo transportation reached 1,686 million tonnes, up 13%.
The GSO urged the Ministry of Industry and Trade to speed up the review and amendments of legal documents to promote the development of the domestic market.
A close watch will be on the market developments to ensure adequate supply and stable prices of necessary goods in the remaining months of this year./.
