THE ECONOIMIC SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82S00205R000200010050-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 6, 2012
• Sequence Number: 50
• Publication Date: January 20, 1969
• Content Type: IR

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Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/06 :CIA-RDP82S00205R000200010050-7
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DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence Report
~'he Economic Situation in South Vietnam
(Weekly)
Secret
123
20 Jan~zary 1969
Na. 0477/69
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/06 :CIA-RDP82S00205R000200010050-7
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/06 :CIA-RDP82S00205R000200010050-7
"WARNING
This document contains information affecting the national defense of the
Unitad States, within the meaning of Title 18, sections 793 and 794, of the
US bode, as amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents to or
receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
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DECLASSRRCATZON
Secret
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/06 :CIA-RDP82S00205R000200010050-7
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
The Economic Situation in South Vietnam
Summary
A 1967 survey of hamlet residents in III and
IV Corps indicates that the rural population has
considerable contact with urban communities as a
result of greater access to and ownership of various
means of transportation and communication.
The rail line between Da Nang and Hue recently
was opened for the first time in four years.
Retail prices in Saigon declined slightly during
the week ending 6 January. The price index for imported
goods also was down slightly. Free market dollar
and gold prices were stable, while the price of scrip
declined.
ANNEXs Weekly Retail Prices in Saigon
(table)
Monthly and Weekly Currency and
Gold Prices (graph)
SECRET
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Sr;C.~Kr:.l
Hamlet Survey
1. A survey conducted by the Stanford Research
Institute (SRI) among hamlet residents in 24 of the
27 provinces in southern South Vietnam indicates
that there is considerable contact between rural
people and urban communities and that the rural
population, at least in the southern part of the
country, is more mobile than many observers have
believed.. In late 1967 SRI conducted interviews in
almost 900 households in 54 secure hamlets in III
acid IV Corps as part of a study on land tenure.
Over half of the respondents said they had been to
Saigon at one time or another, and 35 percent had
visited the capital in 1967. Despite the war,
passenger bus transportation has continued through-
out a large part of III and IV Corps, and this
probably is an important factor in explaining the
amount of contact between Saigon and the country-
side. It must be noted, however, that a large
number of the hamlets surveyed were located near
major transportation routes from the countryside
to Saigon. Individual means of transport also have
contributed to the mobility of rural residents.
The survey showed that more than 40 percent of the
rural population sample owned some form of trans-
port. Of the households interviewed, 35 percent
owned bicycles and 7 percent owned motorcycles or
scooters. Only one percent of the sample owned
automobiles. As expected, ownership of these
vehicles was more prevalent among nonfarmers and
farm owners than among tenant farmers or farm
workers. Ownership of radios outranked that of
bicycles---44 percent of those interviewed owned
radios---while ownership of television sets was as
rare as ownership of automobiles. As with vehicles,
radio ownership was directly related to economic
status.
Railroad Reconstruction
2. On 15 January a freight train completed the
round trip between Da Nang and Hue for the first
time in four years. With the opening of this
60-mile stretch of track, about half of Vietnam's
850 miles of railroads currently are open. A
joint US/Vietnamese reconstruction effort has been
SECRET
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under way for months, and plans call for comple-
tion of repairs on the entire 690-mile coastal
line from Saigon to Dong Ha near the DMZ some
time in 1970.
3. The volume of passengers and freight on
the railroads has been extremely low in recent
years because of the insecurity and damage to
equipment caused by the war. In 1966 the volume
of freight in ton/kilometers was only eight
percent and passenger traffic was only two percent
of the 1963 level. Both passenger and freight
traffic increased somewhat during 1967 as security
improved, but declined again in 1968 as a result
of the enemy offensives.
4. Retail prices in Saigon declined two
percent during the week ending 6 January. The
index of food prices declined three percent as
prices of most protein foods and vegetables fell
due to decreased consumption following the
Christmas and New Year holidays. Prices of all
grades of rice were unchanged. The index of
nonfood prices, however, continued to increase
slightly for the eighth consecutive week as
prices of charcoal, firewood, and white calico
continued to rise. (A table of weekly retail
prices in Saigon is included in the Annex.)
5. During the week ending 7 January the
USAID price index for imported commodities
declined slightly for the first time since early
December 1968. Prices of almost half of the 31
products reported in the index were lower with
sugar and several iron and steel products regis-
tering the largest reductions.
Currency and Gold
6. Free market dollar and gold prices were
unchanged during the week ending 6 January at 200
and 284 piasters per dollar, respectively. The
price of MPC (scrip) declined five piasters to
150 piasters per dollar, still 32 piasters above
the official exchange rate. (A graph on monthly
and weekly currency and gold prices is included
in the Annex.)
SECRET
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Weekly Retail Prices in Saigon
3 Jan
2 Jan
16 Dec
23 Dec
30 Dec
6 Jan
19b7
19~g
196
196
1968
1969
Index for All Ite? ~s 22
Index for Food Items ~
~l!
~
~
~
~
Cf Which:
(Iri Piasters )
Rice-Soc Nau
(100 kg.)
.1,700
2,500
3,000
3,000
3,100
3,100
Pork Bellies
(1 kg.)
130
220
270
2S0
N.A.
N.A.
Fish-Ca Tre
(1 kg.)
150
230
2g0
310
NoA.
N.A.
Nuoc Mam (jar) ~ 90
150
220
220
N.Ao
N.A.
Index for Nonfood Items
~
2 1
Of Which?
(In Piasters)
Fire~aood (cu. rieter) 5b0
600
160
760
N.Ao
NoA.
Cigarettes (pack) 1L,,
1L,
22
22
N.A.
N.A.
White Calico (meter) 33
52
b4
70
N.Ao
N.A.
Kerosene (liter} 10.5
9
10
10
N.A.
N.A.
~.
a. Data are from USAID sources. For indexes 1 Jan 1965 = 100.
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-r.~`~~~e.arket Gol~,;and Currency Prices
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150
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