
HCM City (VNA) -Businesses are increasing production to ensure sufficient supply of goods forthe upcoming Lunar New Year Festival (Tet) early next year and steady pricesduring the year's biggest shopping season.
Ho Chi Minh City’s Departmentof Industry and Trade recently announced plans for its annual marketstabilisation programme to ensure adequate supply of essential goods for amonth each before and after the festival.
Demand for items such as drinksand confectionery is expected to spike by 20 percent during Tet, whilewholesale markets may need to stock 80 percent more flowers than normal to meetdemand.
Besides increasing production,companies are also working on launching new products and business models. Forinstance, Ba Huan Joint Stock Company will produce more varieties of processedgoods for Tet, while Vinamit Joint Stock Company is focusing on working withonline distributors and launching new nutritious vegetable and fruit drinks bythe end of the year.
According to the department,large retailers are set to stock goods two or three times as in normal monthsthough most are reluctant to announce their exact business plans for Tet.
Due to negative factors likethe COVID-19 pandemic and flood in central Vietnam, demand during next year's Tetmight be lower than normal, many businesses feared.
They need to utilise onlinechannels and spend more on marketing and promotions, they say.
The Ministry of Industry andTrade has called on province and city authorities across the country to monitorlocal production and business plans, have plans in place to deal with potentialmarket anomalies and keep an eye on the market to ensure a steady supply ofessential goods and those covered by price stabilisation programmes./.