Is Vietnam's addiction to instant noodles on the way out?
After a decline over the past five years, Vietnam's instant noodles sales rose to 4.92 billion packets last year, according to the World Instant Noodles Association (WINA), as reported by Dan Tri.
Statistics from past years showed that the country was gradually weaning off its dependence on processed noodles: Vietnam consumed 5.2 billion packets in 2013, 5 billion in 2014 and 4.8 billion in 2015, VietnamNet shares. Instant noodle consumption is falling globally and according to Kajiwara Junichi, general director of CP Acecook Vietnam, the Vietnamese instant noodle market has declined thanks to availability of new kinds of instant food.
WINA attributed last year’s modest sales rebound in Vietnam to a wider range of instant noodle choices, but industry insiders aren’t optimistic about long-term growth. Between Acecook Vietnam, Masan Consumer and Asia Foods, the companies that account for 70% of Vietnam’s instant noodle market share, only Acecook has seen a modest sign of recovery.
While these figures may seem positive to health-conscious locals, the report didn't specify exactly which "new kind of instant food" is gaining popularity among Vietnamese. Therefore, it's entirely possible that the country is just weaning off its instant noodle addiction by getting hooked on another form of processed meal.
Vietnam is the fourth-largest consumer of instant noodles in the world, after China, Indonesia and Japan. Average personal consumption was the second-highest in the world in 2016 after South Korea, with each person in Vietnam eating 55 packs a year.
[Photo via Flickr user Su-lin]
