Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien meets with representatives from localities and agencies on industrial production and goods supply during the Lunar New Year holiday (Photo: VietnamPlus) Hanoi, (VNA) – The Ministry of Industry and Trade held an online conference on February 16 to assess industrial production and the supply of goods during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday and discuss plans to roll out tasks in the time ahead.
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien took the occasion to request localities guide enterprises on exploiting free trade agreements (FTAs) and boosting exports via official channels that have been approved by the Prime Minister.
Representatives from localities reported on measures to ensure goods supply to stabilize the market, and support enterprises to resume production and export immediately after the holiday.
Good signs in the first quarter
Ha Vu Son, Director of the Industry and Trade Department of Can Tho city, said the prices of some products fluctuated by between 5-10% during Tet, but the department has closely monitored the market to prevent shortages. At the same time, the supply of petrol and oil was locked in. On the second day of the lunar year, all shopping malls, supermarkets, and wet markets in the city re-opened, thus ensuring stable goods supply and prices.
The official highlighted that Trung An company exported the first batch of rice of the new year to Malaysia on February 15, and another firm in the city also received orders from the Republic of Korea (RoK) throughout 2024.
“The city has instructed all units in the industry and trade sector to immediately resume work after Tet, closely monitoring and coordinating goods supply among shopping malls, supermarkets and traditional markets, so as to ensure goods supply-demand and rice export,” Son said.
It is a similar case in Hai Phong City. Nguyen Van Thanh, Director of the city’s Industry and Trade Department, said thanks to early preparations, they avoided shortages in goods supply during Tet, including petrol and power. The department started working as early as the third day of the new lunar year when the holiday was not yet over and granted more than 30 certificates of origin for exports to ASEAN countries, the RoK and South Africa. The department also worked with supermarkets in the city and reached an agreement on their re-opening at noon on the first day of the new lunar year along with the launch of promotion and sales campaigns, thus stabilizing the market.
Hai Phong proposed that the minister instruct agencies to remove obstacles during the implementation of the 8th Power Development Plan and offshore wind and waste-to-energy projects, in order to attract investment to the city.
The Industry and Trade Department of Lang Son province reported busy and smooth export activities at its border gates to China before Tet, involving mostly farm produce and fruits.
People shop for Tet at a supermarket (Photo: VietnamPlus) According to the department’s director Nguyen Dinh Dat, the border gates connecting Lang Son and China’s Guangxi closed on the first to fourth days of the Lunar New Year. Customs clearance resumed from the fifth day for exporters with signed contracts, and fully resumed on the ninth day (February 18).
Dat said the department required petrol suppliers in the province to prepare plans to ensure uninterrupted supply and talked with the Chinese side to promote the flow of exports.
Ensuring sufficient supply of electricity, fuel
At the conference, Deputy Director General of Electricity Vietnam (EVN) Vo Quang Lam said the group’s electricity output in January was 3.9% higher than the approved plan. During the 10-day Lunar New Year festival (from February 5-14), commercial power surged over 10% year on year.
To ensure power supply in the time ahead, the expanded Yaly and Hoa Binh hydropower plants will maintain operation, and work on other key power projects in keeping with the schedule, Lam said.
“EVN is closely following the instructions of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Industry and Trade and coordinating with investors to ensure power supply in the coming time,” he said.
Deputy Director General of Electricity Vietnam (EVN) Vo Quang Lam reports on power supply during Tet (Photo: VietnamPlus) The EVN representative also asked localities to persuade big power consumers to practice power saving and urged other corporations to ensure coal and gas supply for electricity generation.
Meanwhile, Tran Ngoc Nam, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) said to prepare for Tet, the group increased imports by 10% of the quota assigned by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in January. In the first 10 days of February, the group imported nearly half of the month’s planned volume.
Petrolimex suggested that the ministry early finalize the draft decree on petrol trading as instructed by the minister, to replace the old ones (Decrees 83/CP, 80/CP and 95/CP) as it would have great impact on business activities of importers, giving them clear directions for their production and business.
At the same time, the ministry should review conditions for business licenses and intensify inspections toward a healthy petrol market, the Petrolimex representative said. The ministry needs to review the minimum quota assigned to traders every quarter, he said.
Taking note of the suggestions of localities and companies, Minister Dien highlighted that the supply of essential goods was abundant across the country before, during and after Tet, with Vietnamese goods accounting for a very large market share.
In particular, the supply of power and fuel for production and daily life was ensured without any interruption. Industrial production showed good signs, the domestic market developed strongly, and import-export activities earned outstanding results.
Delegates speak about production, business situation during Tet (Photo: VietnamPlus) The minister again reminded localities to focus on ensuring petrol and power for production and daily life, supporting production and business activities and effectively utilizing FTAs and rolling out the project on boosting exports via official channels.
He asked agencies to make proposals on policies and mechanisms that can create breakthroughs and mobilize resources in society for development./.
