Ho Chi Minh City shoppers cram supermarkets over discounted foods
Monday, March 02, 2020, 19:01 GMT+7
People wear face masks while shopping at a crowded Co.opmart supermarket in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
Last Saturday and Sunday might have been the busiest weekend for supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City over the past few weeks since the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic, as shoppers crowded their shelves to stock up on discounted foods.
The official count of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Vietnam has stopped at 16, with all of the patients being successfully treated and already discharged from the hospital, but many sectors, including retail, are feeling the economic impact as consumers alter their shopping patterns.
Eating and drinking out and other activities outside the home have been minimized due to the COVID-19 fear, however, last weekend was an exception.
As supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City offered attractive discounts on a variety of meat and vegetables, local shoppers took the chance to fill their baskets with these foods.
For instance, small pork ribs were down from VND280,000 (US$12.11) per kilogram to VND238,000 ($10.3) per kg at the Co.opmart supermarket chain, South Korean strawberry’s price was cut by 39 percent to VND89,000 ($3.85), and chicken from VND109,000 ($4.72) per kg to VND89,000 ($3.85) per kg at VinMart supermarkets.
At some grocery stores, people had to wait in long lines for payment, while foods flew off shelves although supermarket employees constantly refilled them.
Below are photos of people shopping at supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City last weekend:
People wear face masks while shopping at a Co.opmart supermarket in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
People queue for payment at a Co.opmart supermarket in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
Shopping trolleys are filled with bags of commodities at a Co.opmart supermarket in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
People wear face masks while shopping at a Co.opmart supermarket in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
People wear face masks while shopping at a crowded Co.opmart supermarket in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
A shelf of cloth face masks is placed next to a check-out counter at a Co.opmart supermarket in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
A food shelf at a Co.opmart supermarket in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
People make purchases at a VinMart supermarket in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
A shelf at a Co.opmart supermarket in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
A woman wears a face mask as as she shops for discounted meat at a Co.opmart supermarket in on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
People wear face masks as they shop for discounted fruits at a Co.opmart supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
Discounted fish at a Satrafoods store in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
Different kinds of meat were discounted at a VinMart supermarket in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 1, 2020. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre
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Knapper highly appreciated the high-level phone call on April 4, during which Party General Secretary To Lam expressed Vietnam's readiness to eliminate import duties on U.S. goods
Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic
