Prices of beef and some vegetables increased during Lao New Year

The prices of beef and some vegetables increased during Lao New Year

The prices of beef and some vegetables increased during Pi Mai Lao or Lao New Year holiday, while the costs of other consumables remained stable.

The price of onions rose from 25,000 to 28,000 kip per kg, and the price of mint rose from 5,000 to 8,000 kip per kg of mint, as they were both in demand for celebration feasts.

Many other vegetables also fluctuated in price, especially cabbage, but the small variations did not seem to deter consumers during the holiday celebrations. Meanwhile the price of tomatoes, lemons and eggplants remained stable at 5,000 kip per kg.

A vendor who always buys vegetables and other crops said that onion and mint prices increased noticeably during the Pi Mai period and she was not sure if they will fall after New Year or not.

She said that the costs of many other kinds of vegetables are still stable and have not risen this year, but unfortunately some traders take the opportunity to raise their prices and increase profits over the Pi Mai period.

The cost of clothes, plastic guns and water buckets also rose noticeably during the holiday period. However, in order to cerebrate Pi Mai, some traders closed their shops, and the big markets in Vientiane such as Thongkhankham, Khuadin and Talat Sao were noticeably quiet.

The price of beef at local markets went as high as 80,000 kip per kg and in the large markets ranged from 70,000-75,000 kip but the price of pork and fish remained stable.

Despite the fact that the authorities are monitoring the price of beef in the markets they have been unable to impose price controls as yet as they need to quantify breeding and feeding costs first.

The Vientiane Industry and Commerce Department recently issued an announcement dictating that pig prices at the farm should sell for between 16,000 and 17,500 kip per kg, from 20,000-21,000 kip per kg at the slaughterhouses and 34,000 kip per kg in the local markets.

The department also declared that fish farm Tilapia must sell for between 16,000 and 18,000 kip per kg at the farm, 19,000kip from middlemen and 23,000 kip per kg in the market.

LNTV Lao News broadcast on 19/4/2013