Ministries and sectors will continue to stablise prices of goods from now until the end of the year and in the first quarter of 2023, especially before and during the Lunar New Year (Tet) in 2023.

That is the main purpose of the Ministry of Finance's directive on strengthening management and stabilisation of goods and service prices during Tet in 2023 that has just been issued to create advantages and control inflation.

According to the ministry, in the 11 months of 2022, the world's economic and political situation changed rapidly and complicatedly. Prices of strategic raw materials, including petrol, rose to high levels in the first half of the year to put great pressure on the target of controlling inflation in Viet Nam.

In that context, price management was synchronously implemented by ministries, sectors and localities under the direction of the Government, contributing to inflation control as targeted.

However, until the end of the year and in the first quarter of 2023, supply, demand and prices of essential raw materials are expected to have many complicated and unpredictable changes. Those require the State to have solutions for the management and stabilisation of goods and service prices for controlling national inflation next year.

Therefore, relevant State agencies are urged to closely monitor the world economic performance and inflation affecting Viet Nam and have suitable solutions for coping with the effects. They include local departments of finance, customs and tax, the State Treasury of provinces and centrally-run cities, the State Reserve Department, and the National Steering Committee for Anti-smuggling, Counterfeit Goods and Trade Fraud.

They will also closely update the situation of supply and demand, and the domestic market prices to suggest measures on managing and stabilising the prices on the domestic market, especially before, during and after Tet. They need to strengthen the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods, avoiding abnormal fluctuations affecting socioeconomic development.

The price management and stabilisation will especially focus on essential goods and services, such as food, fresh food, travel and transportation services, and materials for production.

Of which, the ministry has requested the Price Management Department to closely monitor supply, demand and prices in the market, especially for some essential consumer goods and important materials with large fluctuations in prices. It will advise the ministry on appropriate price management measures to stabilise the market prices and control inflation.

At the same time, it will collect market information, then analyse and forecast fluctuations in market prices. Then, it actively develops a price management scenario from now until 2023 with proposals on price management.

Goods for Tet increase

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the supply of essential goods for the coming Tet will be basically enough with stable prices based on preparation from the ministries, sectors, localities and enterprises.

Especially, with a series of trade promotion and consumption stimulation programmes, people in remote and isolated areas and workers in industrial zones can get goods at stable and affordable prices.

Minister of Trade and Industry Nguyen Hong Dien has suggested the Ministry of Finance (MoF) coordinate with MoIT in monitoring price fluctuations and price-stablised items, and strictly handle violations in price.

Dien has also proposed the State Bank continue directing commercial banks to deploy supportive policies for the businesses participating in the market stabilisation programme during the Lunar New Year with preferential interest rates. That will bring advantages to the businesses to increase capital for buying goods for Tet and stabilising the market.

Le Manh Phong, director of Big C and Go! chains in the North under the Central Retail Vietnam Group, said the domestic market prices have fluctuated with changes in the world market, but purchasing power has recovered and has been even higher than in two years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The chains also forecast that from now until the end of the Lunar New Year in 2023, the purchasing power will continue this positive trend.

"The chains have worked with all suppliers to stock goods for Tet since the beginning of October this year,” said Phong.

Authorities in big cities with large populations and high consumer demand, such as Ha Noi, Da Nang and HCM City, have built detailed plans to ensure goods for Tet.

Tran Thi Phuong Lan, acting director of Ha Noi Department of Industry and Trade, said it is forecast that from the end of 2022 until the Lunar New Year in 2023, shopping demand is expected to increase from 15-30 per cent depending on each item. So, production and business enterprises in Ha Noi will step up production and purchasing to stockpile goods to be ready to serve the diverse consumer needs of the people.

Ha Noi has been also implementing a market stabilisation programme for essential commodities from July 2022 to the end of May 2023 with the participation of 32 enterprises of production, trading and supplying goods. They supply goods to more than 12,000 selling points in the city, including 132 supermarkets, over 8,000 stores, 1,269 stalls at traditional markets and 517 collective kitchens.

To support enterprises in taking loans for the production of essential goods, the municipal authorities have had a programme on connecting those enterprises to banks that provide total loans worth VND889 billion.

“The enterprises have also promoted sales of goods and services via online channels and implemented electronic payments. They have actively connected with partners in other provinces and cities to have an available supply of goods for Ha Noi,” Lan said.

A representative of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade said enterprises have spent VND22 triillion to prepare goods for HCM City's market in the two months before and during Tet in 2023, including eggs, foodstuffs and processed foods.

The city currently has 46 trading centres, 227 supermarkets and 3,000 convenience stores. It is forecast that the supply of goods will increase about 2-3 times compared to normal months.

“HCM City has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOUs) with the companies to stabilise the price of essential goods before, during and after Tet,” the representative said.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Huu Hanh, deputy director of Da Nang Department of Industry and Trade, said “enterprises in the city have increased volume of goods for Tet compared to the previous year with an expected total value of about VND1.85 trillion.”

Nguyen Thi Minh Huyen, deputy director of MoIT's Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy, said e-commerce activities will be promoted by the industry and trade sector to create conditions in expanding markets for manufacturing enterprises, localities, agricultural cooperatives, products under the One Commune One Product programme (OCOP), and local products.

Ensuring market stability

Pham Van Duy, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Market Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the supply of food will basically meet the domestic market demand with an increase in output of essential commodities such as rice, vegetables, fruits, meat, milk and eggs.

Phung Anh Ngoc from MoF's Price Management Department has also agreed that the supply of essential goods is relatively abundant, ensuring the stability of supply for the domestic market and export.

“MoF will continue to coordinate with other ministries, sectors and localities to regulate prices of essential commodities, especially petrol. At the same time, it proposes solutions to stabilise the market and the macroeconomy. This is an important activity because controlling the prices at the end of the year will create advantages for curbing inflation in 2023,” Ngoc said.

Trinh Quang Khanh, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Petroleum Association, said the domestic petroleum market has basically returned to normal. Binh Son Oil Refinery Plant has increased capacity by 10-20 per cent to meet the demand of key traders.

Meanwhile, the petroleum enterprises, members of the association, have completed imports of petroleum as allocated by MoIT. Therefore, the supply of petrol meets the demand for before, during and after Tet, he said. — VNS