It is easier to see influences on transportation firms. Right after the Government decided to hike the fuel prices Monday, the board of Phuong Trang Transportation Co. had a meeting. Deputy director Ngo Van Giap said his company would increase its fares by 20% late this February or early March.

He added other transportation firms would also increase their fares by 25-30% in the next few days.

The taxi firm Vinasun alone, which is operating about 1,500 cabs, does not increase its fares yet. Deputy general director Huynh Van Si said his company would not do this until it is allowed, and changes the metering system for the new fares.

Representatives of HCMC-based taxi firms said they expect to increase fares by VND500 per kilometer. A Mai Linh Taxi executive said his company wants to share the burden of higher fuel prices with its customers to make them less shocked with the new fares.

The textile and garment industry also faces influences. Mr.Nguyen Huu Binh, deputy general director of the Viet Nam National Textile and Apparel Group (Vinatex), said about half of materials used in the sector is PE, a by-product of the oil and gas industry. Vietnamese can also use more natural cotton to replace PE but the import price of this material is high currently.

Casumina, a leading manufacturer of automobile and motorcycle tires and tubes, will increase the prices of its products in early March because of more expensive input, said deputy director Nguyen Quoc Anh.

Right on Tuesday, foreign manufacturers of automobile and motorcycle tires and tubes raised their selling prices by 5-10%. 

Retail prices in general, which have increased recently, are forecast to continue to rise.

Nguyen Thi Hanh, deputy general director of the Saigon Co.op Mart supermarket chain, said retail prices would have to go up, and more with items that need more transportation. She added in previous times only gasoline prices had increased, but this time saw higher prices of both gasoline and kinds of oil.

In construction, the steel price may set a new high with a predicted 15% increase. The new retail price of steel is forecast at VND17 million (about US$1,062) per ton.

In agriculture, farmers have to shoulder higher costs as fertilizer prizes will increase. The rise is forecast at 10-20%, according to Mr.Nguyen Hac Thuy, general secretary of the Fertilizer Association of Viet Nam.

Source: SGGP