The Vietnamese arm of agricultural giants Chaoren Pokphand Group has come under fire in Ho Chi Minh City for raising the price of eggs.
CP Vietnam admitted raising prices to optimise profits ahead of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, at a meeting with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade.
Demand for eggs traditionally increases before Tet, which falls on Feb 10 this year.
A senior executive told the meeting that CP Vietnam always adjusts prices in accordance with market demand, according to Vietnam Net Bridge.
Egg prices have increased rapidly since the beginning of the year, according to the department.
The price of chicken eggs had climbed from VND2400 (3.43 baht) per egg to VND2700 (3.86 baht), while duck eggs had jumped from VND3000 (4.29 baht) to VND3500 (5 baht).
The department said that farmers had not raised their prices and that the price increases were unreasonable.
Some supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City have limited customers to 20 eggs each as demand increases.
CP Vietnam defended its prices and said that it had eased the wholesale price of eggs, including an even lower rate offered to Saigon Co-op stores.
The deputy general director of Saigon Co-op said that the supermarket chain had not yet accepted CP Vietnam’s offer.
“It’s not good behaviour... pushing prices up and then forcing prices down, because it causes uncertainty in the market. CP Vietnam has eased its prices, but this does not mean that Saigon Co-op has to accept its every move,” Bui Hanh Thu told VnExpress.
“CP Vietnam should have taken actions to share the difficulties with consumers instead of pushing prices up to seek profits.”
CP Vietnam had a reported turnover of US$1.5 billion (44.67bn baht) in 2011, according to Vietnam Net Bridge.