In July alone, the figureexceeded 327.6 trillion VND (11.4 billion USD), up 1.19 percent compared withthe previous month. Revenue of the groupof food and foodstuff, accommodation and catering services saw noted increasesfrom 10.7 percent to 11.6 percent while that of cultural and educationalservices experienced the lowest rise of 4.84 percent, reflecting that thedemand for such services remained stagnant due to their online prevalence. The remaining groupsexpanded from 7.75 percent to 9.6 percent. Disregarding price hikes, the totalretail sales and services revenue stood at 8.7 percent, higher than the raterecorded in the first half of this year. Experts forecastthat in August and the remaining months of this year, the goods market willcontinue to be affected by rains and floods, which will push up prices ofproducts and services. However, thanks tothe good supply sources and close coordination in controlling prices ofproducts managed by the State, there will be no sharp increases in prices, theysaid. To continueeffectively implementing solutions stimulating production, ensuring supplysources, curbing inflation and stabilising the macro economy, they suggested thePeople’s Committees of provinces instruct local households to have suitablebreeding plans. Specifically, sugarfirms should reduce the price and improve their competitiveness in the contextthat the import tax will be cut to almost zero percent in 2018, they said. The experts alsocalled on ministries, agencies and localities to closely coordinate with eachother in managing the market and prices of products under the State managementin the time ahead.-VNA