Inventory has become a common concern of domestic enterprises due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shoppers buy fruits at a supermarket. (Source: thoibaotaichinhvietnam.vn) 

A recent survey conducted by the General Statistics Office showed 57.7% of enterprises affected by the pandemic said their consumption market had decreased sharply.

The shrinking consumer market is a top concern of most businesses at the moment.

Enterprises are not only greatly affected by the shrinking domestic market, but their goods also cannot be exported.

Purchasing power after the pandemic has improved but is still at a modest level, which makes inventory of many businesses still very large.

To improve purchasing power, free inventory, and stimulate domestic consumption, HCM City has launched promotional activities lasting two months.

Pham Thanh Kien, Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, said the highlight of the programme was the combination of the two traditional shopping channels and e-commerce.

To help businesses expand consumption markets, the city will hold a programme to connect the city and other provinces in September.

The programme aims to form supply chains from production to consumption and delivery, bringing the city’s goods into distribution systems of other provinces and vice versa.

In terms of businesses in the food industry, Luong Dang Son, Director of SagoFood Food JSC, said the pandemic had a great impact on the consumption of goods.

In addition, consumers had also changed their habits as they spent more time at home, he told Tap chi Tai chinh (Finance) online newspaper.

To improve purchasing power of consumers and stop the market narrowing, Son said his company was keen on online trading.

The company had connected with more than 2,000 online shopping points to attract customers, he added.

Dinh Minh Tam, Deputy Director of Co May Import Export Company in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, said the company was facing difficulties in finding markets to export its Tra fish (pangasius).

This meant the company was focusing on selling in the domestic market, he said. 

“In order to target domestic consumers, we are approaching distribution systems in big cities like HCM City and Hanoi to activate domestic consumption for our products to solve difficulties in exports,” he added.

Meanwhile, experts advised businesses to re-organise distribution systems.

They also stressed the need to set up a production and distribution chain going straight from production to consumption in key markets, especially in big cities and densely-populated areas.