HCM CITY — HCM City’s market stabilisation programme for 2025 and the Lunar New Year (Tết) 2026 will have 72 enterprises participating, three more than last year, according to the city's Department of Industry and Trade.

Among them, 49 enterprises are involved in stabilising prices for essential food and foodstuffs, 15 enterprises committing to stabilising prices for school supplies; four enterprises engaging in essential consumer goods, eight enterprises in pharmaceuticals, and two enterprises participating in supporting rental price stabilisation and providing materials for production within the programme.

The programme will be carried out from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, Ngô Hồng Y, head of the department’s commercial management division, told a meeting held by the department on Friday to announce key initiatives of the city’s trade and industry sector for the first quarter.

The programme covers 12 groups of essential food and foodstuff: rice, processed dry food, and flour; sugar; cooking oil; livestock meat; poultry meat; poultry eggs; processed food; vegetables and fruits; seafood; spices; dairy products; and beverages, with the volume of goods accounting for 23-31 per cent of the market share during the normal time, and about 25-43 per cent during Tết, he said.

The volume of school supplies such as notebooks, backpacks, school uniforms, shoes, and electronic learning devices under the programme will meet about 35-50 per cent of the needs of students in the city for the 2024-25 school year.

The programme will also cover products such as dishwashing liquid, floor cleaner, hand sanitiser, detergent/fabric softener, biodegradable garbage bags, and wet/dry tissues.

Y said: “The volume of goods involved in the programme this year increases by 4-6 per cent from 2024, accounting for 21-32 per cent of market share in normal months and 24-41 per cent during Tết, ensuring sufficient influence to regulate market prices.”

To ensure the success of the programme, he said his department, in collaboration with the State Bank of Vietnam's HCM City branch, will strengthen the bank-business connectivity programme to help businesses access to preferential loan packages.

Additionally, the department will expand the scale of its “Mobile Sales – Market Stabilisation" programme by organising more sales trips at export processing zones, industrial parks, and high-tech parks and other locations in the city to help businesses increase brand recognition and boost sales.

It will partner with relevant units to conduct research on market trends, consumer behaviour, and monitor the city's commercial activities. These efforts aim to assess the effectiveness of the Market Stabilisation Programme while also forecasting and identifying future market demands, providing timely guidance for businesses in production and distribution to align their products with consumer needs, he added.

The market stabilisation programme has been a big help in ensuring social security in the city for the past 22 years, the department said.

Supply for the programme is usually abundant and at prices 5-10 per cent lower than market rates.

HCM City Export Fair

At the meeting, the department announced that the third Vietnam Outstanding Export Products Fair, or HCM City Export 2025, will be held from March 27 to 29 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre to support businesses in promoting their products, expanding markets, enhancing competitiveness, and boosting exports.

Lê Minh Trung, director of the HCM City Business Support and Development Centre, said the fair this year will feature more than 700 booths showcasing a wide range of product categories, including agricultural products, food, seafood, handicrafts, souvenirs, regionally distinctive goods, textiles, footwear, supporting industries, and food processing, packaging, and preserving technologies.

In addition to product displays, the fair will host various trade promotion activities to connect Vietnamese businesses with domestic and international buyers and distribution systems, and e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba, he said.

The fair is set to be a key event that not only enhancing trade promotion but also honoring the value and quality of Vietnamese products in the international market.

So far, the event has attracted 161 international buyers from major markets such as South Korea, the US, China, Singapore, Dubai, and Malaysia, who have confirmed their participation in business matchmaking activities with Vietnamese enterprises.

Additionally, the organising committee will facilitate trade connections between Vietnamese businesses and leading distribution systems, including Saigon Co.op, Satra, AEON, Central Retail, MM Mega Market, and Bách Hóa Xanh. — VNS