It is nearly two months away from the Lunar New Year festival but manufacturers and retailers across the capital city of Hanoi are piling up goods for the occasion.

The total value of merchandise for the New Year holiday is estimated at 16 trillion VND (761 million USD), mostly pork meat, fresh seafood and vegetables, according to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

Ho Quoc Nguyen, Director of Public Relations at Big C supermarket, said the purchasing power is expected to increase 15 percent from last year’s same period, adding that confectionery are plentiful, including popular and premium brands of Kinh Do, Trung Nguyen, Vinamit and Hai Ha.

Big C also stores up 420 tonnes of fresh meat, and fruits of various kinds from the Mekong Delta.

The Hanoi Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (Habeco) plans to put 145 million litres of Hanoi and Truc Bach-branded beer up for sale.

The Hai Ha and Trang An confectionery companies turned out 8,500 and 2,700 tonnes of sweeties and jams, respectively.

Businesses involving in the city’s price stabilisation scheme plan to sell 4,000 tonnes of rice, 900 tonnes of pork meat, 450 tonnes of chicken and duck meat, 5.5 million eggs, 200 tonnes of frozen seafood, 1,500 litres of cooking oil, and 1,500 tonnes of vegetables.

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade Tran Thi Phuong Lan assured that between now and the Lunar New Year, there will not be a dramatic price hike.

To shore up demand, shopping malls and supermarkets such as Big C, Hapro, Vinmart, Fivimart, Intimex and Metro offer thousands of products at discounts, not to mention other value deals.

To keep a check on supply and prices, the department will direct market management units to crack down on speculation phenomena and check points-of-sale that offer items listed in the price stabilisation scheme.-VNA