Customers shop for Tet. — VNA/VNS Photo
Ha Noi began a market stabilisation programme in May last year that will run until June 2021, including a plan to serve the coming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, said Tran Thi Phuong Lan, deputy director of the Ha Noi Department of Industry and Trade.
The Department of Industry and Trade of Ha Noi had issued a plan to ensure goods supplement in co-ordination with relevant departments, Lan told a meeting on ensuring goods for Tet on Monday.
To date, 30 districts and towns of Ha Noi had built plans and 13 groups of essential goods had been stockpiled by businesses, worth a total of VND39.4 trillion (US$1.7 billion).
However, attracting businesses to participate in the price stabilisation programme had been a struggle, with many businesses reluctant to control prices during price increases or decreases, said Lan.
Do Tue Tam, Deputy General Director of Ha Noi Trade Corporation (Hapro), said from May to now, the corporation had committed to reserving up to VND1 trillion of goods, of which VND200 billion's worth would be for Tet.
A report from the Ha Noi Department of Industry and Trade says that the essential goods for Tet include 292,500 tonnes of rice, 56,700 tonnes of pork, 18,900 tonnes of chicken, 18,459 tonnes of beef, 396 million eggs, 315,000 tonnes of vegetables, 11,114 tonnes of processed food, 15,740 tonnes of aquatic products and 156,000 tonnes of fruit.
Accessing the current capacity to supply essential goods in the locality, the department said rice could meet 57.7 per cent, pork 92 per cent and chicken meat basically met demand.
The units in the area had developed a plan to increase the number of essential goods for Tet with an average increase of 7 per cent to 22 per cent compared to the plan of last year, said the department.
At the meeting, Tran Duy Dong, director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Domestic Market Department, suggested the municipal Department of Industry and Trade work with other departments, branches and enterprises to ensure the quality of goods, as well as circulation and distribution.
He said the municipal Department of Industry and Trade needed to closely monitor market movements at the end of the year to respond promptly to market instability.
In addition, the Ha Noi Department of Industry and Trade needed to regulate the supply, sales plans and join hands with State management agencies to prevent soaring pig prices.
The department must also control the import, quality of goods with a clear origin, ensuring food safety and hygiene. — VNS