TAGS: Imported food prices Ho Chi Minh City, Tariffs, Grocery Stores, Cooking Shows, Foodies, U.S. Food Exports to Vietnam
What's in My Cart?
Imported Food Prices at Grocery Stores
February 2013
Deli placard reads, "Impress Your Taste."
This is a foodie country.
Not only do you see people all over the city streets, hanging out in coffee shops, on miniture plastic chairs, or eating from a stall, it is hard to escape an obsession with food in one's own home. All day, the local cable broadcasts travel, food, and cooking shows.
On channel 9, you can catch Bear Gryllis with the Bedouin eating raw goat testicles. While goat delicacies may be found on the menu here, maybe something less exotic piques your foodie voyeurism.
So flip on channel 19, and you will witness Anthony Bourdain moaning as he spoons savories onto his tongue. He takes you to meet the Lunch Lady and raps wistfully over the founding of Com Neiu Saigon. (No Reservations can be seen on youtube). Minus the gushing nostalgia of a man recovering from a hang-over, he describes a pretty accurate view of the food culture, especially if you just want to pass through as a tourist for a few days, recovering with your Imodium while you are tucked safely in bed in your home country, which is one of the grueling facts of the celebrity food star's life, per Bobby Chin, who has been in Viet Nam for over ten years.
Tune in at a different time of day and you can see Bobby Chin cooking outside markets, flirting with his co-anchor of the hour by making flaccid double entendres, or driving a US army retro jeep through the roads swathed in motorbikes and pedestrians. When I first arrived, he opened a new restaurant at the base of the Intercontinental and aired the process on The Learning Channel. Star-struck viewers pose with him when he is working the front of the house, but I found him to be a pretty interesting conversationalist. Somehow, I think he'd prefer a glowing review of his food, but river crab roe just doesn't do anything for me.
Move away from the television with dreams of fried fish balls floating in your head, and you can visit the local chợ to purchase for dinner a live duck, dog, or baby chick. (I'm kinda joking about the dog, but not really. They are for sale in a cage on the back of a motorbike on the side of the highway. With the heat and the cramped space, it is hard to tell if the pooches are already dead, as they lie listlessly with their furry tails poking between the steel.)
How does one pay for this pleasure?
How do you know what you are really paying?
(Besides with the solar calculators the merchants use to communicate the price?)
In fat! After several rounds of illness and losing ten pounds, and because another illness could make me more underweight, I decided to no longer pursue the pleasure of novelty, which is what the country and the food stars are selling. The experimentation ended the first meal I was able to replicate with ingredients I could've found in the States. Foodies know this, especially in the slow food movement, there is something healing about eating the basic nutritious food and flavors a person had in her younger years. My attitude lifted, and the process of cooking seemed less like the chore it was becoming. Some expats find a solution in having their maid cook or by hiring personal "chefs". I choose to buy and prepare my own meals; however, I don't have to worry about caramelizing the fish sauce or where to find quất, which coconut was fresh or whether to eat the now sour smelling "fresh" rice noodles. Life simplfied: pay through the gullet for food that feels familiar, or more 'familyar."
Food becomes political, just as the foodies know. And food is politics at the most personal level. There exists multiple economies: the local price, often influenced by governmental price controls, the Viet Kieu price (for those who have left and returned or support the economy through coveted remittances / investment), and the expat price.
Like other ecosystems, this "food chain" exists in all developing countries, wherein the locals assume the foreigner, even national who returns to his homeland, has the appetite and the currency to spend, and should be expected to do so. Behind many foreigners lurks a corporation, which exists at the top of the food chain, keeping the balance of the environment's carrying capacity. Sometimes expats improperly personalize what should be considered arms length transactions and become upset when they are "ripped off." This creates a tension between nationals and visitors, as both sides assume the other is looking to hustle. However, there are foreign professionals who have become out-priced in their own countries due to the worldwide economic downturn, and they relocate here hoping to sell their skills and knowledge while living cheaply. It takes time to know if one is in an economic stream where the local prices apply or if one is fixed to the higher price range niche. And then there is choice to float in the world of top prices, which clearly defines one's role in the economy.
The decision to make mainly Western meals puts me squarely at the top of the food chain in terms of how much I spend. (Yet if I adopted another perspective, I would be a bottom feeder if one valued thrift.) I now hunt for food imported from the U.S. and abroad by shopping in one of the 140 grocery stores and 9 wholesale centers in the country. (These numbers may be out of date as there are shops popping up all over the place.) According to Food Export Association of the Midwest and Northeast USA, "U.S. exports of food and agricultural products reached US$929 million in 2009, an increase of 2.6% from the prior year, a new record high. Of that amount, about 42% or US$393.9 million were in the consumer ready category, but it was a decrease of 3.5% from the record high of 2008 which was US$408.4 million. Vietnam has become the 18th largest market for agricultural products from the U.S. and the 15th largest market for consumer food products in 2009."
Not only do you see people all over the city streets, hanging out in coffee shops, on miniture plastic chairs, or eating from a stall, it is hard to escape an obsession with food in one's own home. All day, the local cable broadcasts travel, food, and cooking shows.
On channel 9, you can catch Bear Gryllis with the Bedouin eating raw goat testicles. While goat delicacies may be found on the menu here, maybe something less exotic piques your foodie voyeurism.
So flip on channel 19, and you will witness Anthony Bourdain moaning as he spoons savories onto his tongue. He takes you to meet the Lunch Lady and raps wistfully over the founding of Com Neiu Saigon. (No Reservations can be seen on youtube). Minus the gushing nostalgia of a man recovering from a hang-over, he describes a pretty accurate view of the food culture, especially if you just want to pass through as a tourist for a few days, recovering with your Imodium while you are tucked safely in bed in your home country, which is one of the grueling facts of the celebrity food star's life, per Bobby Chin, who has been in Viet Nam for over ten years.
Tune in at a different time of day and you can see Bobby Chin cooking outside markets, flirting with his co-anchor of the hour by making flaccid double entendres, or driving a US army retro jeep through the roads swathed in motorbikes and pedestrians. When I first arrived, he opened a new restaurant at the base of the Intercontinental and aired the process on The Learning Channel. Star-struck viewers pose with him when he is working the front of the house, but I found him to be a pretty interesting conversationalist. Somehow, I think he'd prefer a glowing review of his food, but river crab roe just doesn't do anything for me.
Move away from the television with dreams of fried fish balls floating in your head, and you can visit the local chợ to purchase for dinner a live duck, dog, or baby chick. (I'm kinda joking about the dog, but not really. They are for sale in a cage on the back of a motorbike on the side of the highway. With the heat and the cramped space, it is hard to tell if the pooches are already dead, as they lie listlessly with their furry tails poking between the steel.)
How does one pay for this pleasure?
How do you know what you are really paying?
(Besides with the solar calculators the merchants use to communicate the price?)
In fat! After several rounds of illness and losing ten pounds, and because another illness could make me more underweight, I decided to no longer pursue the pleasure of novelty, which is what the country and the food stars are selling. The experimentation ended the first meal I was able to replicate with ingredients I could've found in the States. Foodies know this, especially in the slow food movement, there is something healing about eating the basic nutritious food and flavors a person had in her younger years. My attitude lifted, and the process of cooking seemed less like the chore it was becoming. Some expats find a solution in having their maid cook or by hiring personal "chefs". I choose to buy and prepare my own meals; however, I don't have to worry about caramelizing the fish sauce or where to find quất, which coconut was fresh or whether to eat the now sour smelling "fresh" rice noodles. Life simplfied: pay through the gullet for food that feels familiar, or more 'familyar."
Food becomes political, just as the foodies know. And food is politics at the most personal level. There exists multiple economies: the local price, often influenced by governmental price controls, the Viet Kieu price (for those who have left and returned or support the economy through coveted remittances / investment), and the expat price.
Like other ecosystems, this "food chain" exists in all developing countries, wherein the locals assume the foreigner, even national who returns to his homeland, has the appetite and the currency to spend, and should be expected to do so. Behind many foreigners lurks a corporation, which exists at the top of the food chain, keeping the balance of the environment's carrying capacity. Sometimes expats improperly personalize what should be considered arms length transactions and become upset when they are "ripped off." This creates a tension between nationals and visitors, as both sides assume the other is looking to hustle. However, there are foreign professionals who have become out-priced in their own countries due to the worldwide economic downturn, and they relocate here hoping to sell their skills and knowledge while living cheaply. It takes time to know if one is in an economic stream where the local prices apply or if one is fixed to the higher price range niche. And then there is choice to float in the world of top prices, which clearly defines one's role in the economy.
The decision to make mainly Western meals puts me squarely at the top of the food chain in terms of how much I spend. (Yet if I adopted another perspective, I would be a bottom feeder if one valued thrift.) I now hunt for food imported from the U.S. and abroad by shopping in one of the 140 grocery stores and 9 wholesale centers in the country. (These numbers may be out of date as there are shops popping up all over the place.) According to Food Export Association of the Midwest and Northeast USA, "U.S. exports of food and agricultural products reached US$929 million in 2009, an increase of 2.6% from the prior year, a new record high. Of that amount, about 42% or US$393.9 million were in the consumer ready category, but it was a decrease of 3.5% from the record high of 2008 which was US$408.4 million. Vietnam has become the 18th largest market for agricultural products from the U.S. and the 15th largest market for consumer food products in 2009."
While every district has a governmental sponsored market like Ben Thanh and the wholesale food prices for the locally produced commodities are established through price controls and state-owned food companies, such as VinaFood, there are several options for purchasing food with a fixed-price. This eliminates the need to bargain, knowing you may or not be quoted a local food price, even as a resident. Most expats purchase their food at both the veggie stands or local markets and the "supermarkets" (which I describe in this post). However, tariffs up to 40% can exist on imported foods, driving up the cost considerably as seen below in the news release from the Ministry of Finance.
While I haven't seen imported buffalo meat and sheep curry isn't on my shopping list, I wasn't able to find a more detailed tariff list for commodities or for prepackaged items, such as the grains produced by Bob's Red Mill and Orgran, an Australian gluten free brand. Taking a more open market approach, I suspect some shops circumvent import tariffs by having items purchased at Costco and hauled in the suitcases of relatives. I've seen such items as Kirkland brand products and dryer sheets selling for $10 (a small box) in the stores that specialize in Western and Indian packaged food on Ham Nghi, which leads to women declaring all over the city, "You just never know what you will find."
While I haven't seen imported buffalo meat and sheep curry isn't on my shopping list, I wasn't able to find a more detailed tariff list for commodities or for prepackaged items, such as the grains produced by Bob's Red Mill and Orgran, an Australian gluten free brand. Taking a more open market approach, I suspect some shops circumvent import tariffs by having items purchased at Costco and hauled in the suitcases of relatives. I've seen such items as Kirkland brand products and dryer sheets selling for $10 (a small box) in the stores that specialize in Western and Indian packaged food on Ham Nghi, which leads to women declaring all over the city, "You just never know what you will find."
Increased Import Tariffs on Many Kinds of Food(27/09/2010 10:12:00)
The Ministry of Finance recently made public Circular 133/2010/TT-BTC regulating that the import tariffs on many kinds of food will increase as of October 24. The highest 40 percent import tariff will be applied to grapefruit, meat, edible meat byproducts and curried chicken. Meat-mixed products and meat byproducts will be subject to the 38 percent import tariff. Canned food made from buffalo meat and beef, and sheep curry will pay 37 percent VAT.
Food made from raw powder, refined powder or malt extract with 40 percent to less than 50 percent of the total weight being cocoa and chocolate will be subject to the 24 percent import tariff.
Prior to that, Finance Ministry Circular 216/2009/TT-BTC dated November 12, 2009, regulates that the highest VAT is 31 percent on fresh/frozen buffalo meat and beef, 27 percent on fresh/frozen pork, 7 percent on sheep meat and goat meat, and 10 percent on other kinds of imported meat and edible byproducts made from primates and reptiles including snakes and turtles (the modified tariff will be 14 percent)./.
Ministry of Finance, Viet Nam
What's in my GroCery Cart...Ahem, Basket
Consumer price indexes are a good indication of inflation I've learned, and it is interesting to explore the history of high food prices in Viet Nam, but in some very Good- Housekeeper--Suze--Orman-Way, I've been feeling the urge to track how much I am really spending on food. So below is a snapshot of my purchasing habits recently at the local shops: Metro, a wholesaler, CoOp Mart, Veggies (V), Annam Gourmet (AG), Giant, and An Phu Superior Compound Supermarket (APSC).
Chex cereal can be found at Veggies. Costs:$7.41 for 13.8 oz.
Some prices below include the 5-10% Value Added Tax, but some prices are the base cost and the tax is added later, such many prices quoted at Metro. I focus mostly on the imported food items, but have the cost of some of the locally produced food as well as a contrast or due to availability.
Chex cereal can be found at Veggies. Costs:$7.41 for 13.8 oz.
Some prices below include the 5-10% Value Added Tax, but some prices are the base cost and the tax is added later, such many prices quoted at Metro. I focus mostly on the imported food items, but have the cost of some of the locally produced food as well as a contrast or due to availability.
ItemOrgran Multigrain Pasta
Bob's Red Mill Flours Baguette Wheatables Crackers Old El Paso Taco Shells Tostitos Peanut Butter (local) Herdez Salsa Campbell's Condensed Chicken Noodle Soup Butterball Chicken Broth Gatorade Nature Valley Granola Bars Dijon Mustard Mayonaise Roasted Garlic Hummus Kraft Mexican Cheddar Cheese Florida Mozzarella Cheese Eggs Butter UHTMilk Imported Local Greek Yogurt Tillamook Monterey Jack Philadelphia Cream Cheese Lemnos Feta San Pellegrino San Benedetto Scheweppes Tonic (It's got quinine, Baby) Brown parboiled rice (local) Thai rice Canola Oil Diet Coke (local) Saag Sausage Chicken Legs Chicken Breast Farmed Salmon, Fillet Lean Ground Beef Raw Peanuts Fresh Rice Noodles Instant Noodle Cup Bag of Prepared Salad Romaine Fresh Basil Scallions Fresh Dill Yukon Potatoes Ambrosia Apples (Canada) Sweet Potato Green Pepper Yellow Onion |
Cost in VD102,000 - 152,000
80,000 - 114,000 14,000 62,000 88,000 128,000 68,000 - 73,000 40,000 45,000 39,000 37,000 110,000 39,000 44,000 110,000 120,000 250,000 24,500 - 29,000 56,000 - 90,000 43,000 - 57,000 21,000 170,000 to 190,000 130,000 140,000 125,000 56,000 398,000 180,000 60,000 72,000-79,000 68,000 7,000 - 9,500 180,000 57,000 - 65,900 66,000 567,000 242,000 33,500 10,815 7,000 14,500 - 34,450 54,340 9,880 4,480 28,000 3,680 - 6,120 44,346 77,958 20,000 29,000 32,640 |
Cost in USD4.87 - 7.26
3.82 - 5.45 0.67 2.96 4.21 6.12 3.25 - 3.49 1.91 2.15 1.85 1.77 5.26 1.85 2.10 5.26 5.73 11.95 (Ouch!) 1.17 - 1.39 2.68 - 4.30 2.05 - 2.72 1.00 8.12- 9.08 6.21 6.69 5.97 2.68 19.02 8.60 2.87 3.44 - 3.77 3.25 .33-.45 8.60 2.72 - 3.15 3.15 27.08 11.56 1.60 .52 .33 .69 - 1.65 2.60 .47 .21 1.34 .18 - .29 2.12 3.72 .96 1.39 1.56 |
Size8.8 oz
1 lb 6 oz 8.5oz 12 tacos 10 oz 510 g 7 oz 10 oz 14.5 oz 20 oz 6 bars 370 g (small) 235 g 198 g 8 oz 500 g 1 doz 200 g 1 liter 1kg 8 oz 8 oz 180 g 1 litre Case of 12 1ltr Case of 24 2 kg 1kg 500 ml 12 oz 340 g (4 links) 1 kg 1kg 1.4 kg 1.280 kg 500g 1 kg 1 serving varies 494g 38g small bunch kg 80g - 34g 1.14kg 1.2kg 1kg 520g 1.3kg |
ShopAnnam (AG) and Veggies (V)
AG, V AG APSC APSC APSC + others APSC + others V APSC APSC APSC APSC APSC APSC V V V All All All Metro - APSC V V Metro - APSC APSC Metro Metro Giant Giant - APSC Giant Giant - APSC V Metro - Giant Metro Metro Metro Metro CoOp Mart APSC APSC - V AG AG CoOp Metro - AG Metro Metro Metro Metro Metro |
Conversions:
1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds (US)
1 pound = 16 oz
1 oz =28 g
8 oz = 226 grams
1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds (US)
1 pound = 16 oz
1 oz =28 g
8 oz = 226 grams