Inflation target gets harder to reach as prices surge

Experts say food prices are going to surge in November

Vietnam is not likely to keep annual inflation within the targeted  8 percent for this year, with consumer prices expected to surge further in the remaining months.

According to the General Statistics Office, consumer prices rose 1.05 percent in October over the previous month; and 9.66 percent over the same month last year. 
Food prices rose 11.91 percent in October from a year earlier, up 1.32 percent over last month.
Inflation will continue to rise faster toward the year’s end, especially because of a shortage of food due to the recent floods in the central region as well as other natural disasters around the world, economists said.
Besides, a stronger dollar against the dong will also make many imported products more expensive.
“It will be a success if inflation can be kept at single digits, even if it’s higher than the targeted 8 percent,” economist Tran Du Lich was cited by news website Dan Tri as saying.
The government said in a Sunday report on its website that inflation has already risen 7.58 percent so far this year, which means in order to achieve the target, consumer prices must not increase higher than 0.42 percent in the final two months.
“This requires a great effort to control prices in the context that the prices of products and services, especially those of food and foodstuff, tend to surge at the end of the year,” the report said.
The government has targeted an economic growth of 7.5 percent while aiming to keep inflation at around 7 percent next year.