With a wide range of models, good quality and reasonable prices,locally made construction materials like tiles and ashlar bricks areincreasingly capturing the domestic market, according to traders.

NguyenThi Hai Yen, owner of a construction materials shop in Ho Chi MinhCity's Binh Tan district, said instead of preferring cheap Chinese goodslike they used to, customers now choose to buy local tiles and ashlarbricks.

Tiles at moderate prices supplied by Dong Tam Group,Thanh Thanh Joint Stock Company, and Vitaly Joint Stock Company areselling very well, she said.

Many other shop owners in Districts11, Tan Binh, and Thu Duc said bricks and ashlar paving stones have beenbestsellers in recent months as people renovate their houses for Tet(the Lunar New Year), adding that the majority of customers opt forlocal products.

Many local brick producers have reasonable sales policies in addition to supplying quality products in a range of models.

Their prices are comparable to that of Chinese products, and this helps boost sales of Vietnamese products, traders said.

Demandfor paints has also shop up in recent times, but customers tend tochoose products they need and can afford, whether locally made orforeign, the traders said.

Ho Duy, owner of a paint store in GoVap District, said Maxilite and Jotun brands are the most popular,followed by Nippon, Expo, and Dulux.

Paints made by local companies at cheaper prices are also in demand, he said.

Thanh Xuan, a resident of District 11, said she used locally madeashlar tiles for her two apartments due to their good quality andreasonable prices. Chinese tiles look good but fade very quickly, shesaid.

As for paint, she chose Nippon for the apartment she lives in and a local paint for the leased one.

Since the leased apartment needs to be repainted every time there is anew tenant, it makes no sense to use expensive paints, she explained,adding that her house just needs to be painted every four or five yearsbecause she uses expensive paints.

According to cement manufacturers, consumption of cement, especially white cement, has shop up since the last quarter.

Besides the main construction materials, all kinds of products usedfor house repair, such as resin, flooring, plaster ceiling, wallboard,and mosquito nets, also are in demand.

Traders saiddemand for construction materials usually spikes two months before Tetwhen developers speed up construction of housing projects and peoplerenovate their houses to welcome the New Year.-VNA