HCM City will strive to ensure there are no increases in the prices of essential products during Tet (the Lunar New Year) in early February, according to the city People’s Committee.

Speaking at a meeting on Monday with the Ministry of Industry and Trade on keep prices steady during Tet , Le Thanh Liem, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee, said the city would co-ordinate with the ministry to achieve this.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said the city has done a good job in keeping the prices of essential goods steady in recent years, and called on it to closely monitor market supply and demand, inform relevant agencies in time about the pricing situation and enhance oversight to prevent smuggling, trade fraud and violations of food hygiene and safety norms.

The ministry would help the city perform these tasks, he said.

Nguyen Huynh Trang, deputy director of the city Department of Industry and Trade, said companies have completed preparations for Tet , and would exceed his department’s supply targets.

Foods supplied to the city come from three sources, enterprises participating in the city’s price stabilisation programme (accounting for 30-40 per cent of market share), wholesale markets (60-70 per cent) and other businesses (10-20 per cent), she said.

Trang said an average of 9,000 tonnes of mainly farm produce, meat and seafood are now being sent to wholesale markets every day.

This is expected to increase by 80 per cent to 15,000-16,000 tonnes in the run-up to Tet, she said.

Enterprises participating in the programme would ensure prices of all essential goods are steady before, during and after the New Year while cutting the prices of many essential goods such as pork, chicken and poultry eggs sharply during the two days before Tet, she said.

In the month before Tet businesses in the city would run many promotions focusing on Tet items such as soft drinks, cakes, candies, sweets, and clothes, she said.

Major distribution systems such as Saigon Co.op, Satra, Aeon - Citimart, and BigC are expected to offer promotions with discounts of 5-49 per cent during Tet, she added.— VNS