The Hanoi People’s Committee has pledged to make preparations ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) to balance supply and demand of goods and stabilise prices of staple commodities.

The city has ordered businesses to proactively conduct surveys and source commodities from other localities in addition to local products.

Thirteen businesses that have registered to join in the price stabilisation programme are set to sell their goods at 610 outlets across the city.

From now until the Tet holiday, Hanoi will see three supermarkets and 150 mobile fairs working to serve the demand of low-income and rural people.

At a working session with the People’s Committee on November 28, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa requested the city to focus on staple commodities and intensify market control to ensure food safety.

In the periods before and after Tet, Hanoi consumer demand increases 15 – 18 percent compared to other months, and mainly for food, confectionery and soft drinks.-VNA