Ho Chi Minh City commits no price hikes in key staples during Tet

HCM City (VNA) – Price hikes in key staples will not happen in Ho Chi Minh City during the lunar New Year (Tet) holidays, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem has affirmed.

At a working session with Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai on December 24, Liem said that the city will coordinate with the ministry to maintain price stability during this festival and in the first months of 2019, thus helping ensure social welfare.

Hai stated that over the past months, Ho Chi Minh City has well ensured the stability in prices of essential goods.

Therefore, the city should continue keeping a close watch on supply-demand developments, inform the upper level of price management, intensify the fight against smuggling and trade frauds, and ensure food safety and hygiene.

According to Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Huynh Trang, food and products circulated on the city market mainly come from wholesale markets and enterprises participating in the price stabilisation programme.

To date, enterprises have initially completed preparations of goods for Tet, which can meet demands of consumers in the city and surrounding provinces.

The volume of prepared commodities increases by 13.2 – 16.8 percent compared with the target set by the city, Trang said.

Meanwhile, the volume of goods coming to three wholesale markets near Tet is expected to rise by 80 percent against that of normal days from 9,000 tonnes a day to 15,000-16,000 tonnes a day.

Trang added that the enterprises which are joining the price stabilisation programme commit to maintaining prices of goods one month before and after Tet, and offer big discounts on several essential goods such as pork, chicken and eggs on two days before Tet.

The nine-day Tet festival will fall on February 2-10, 2019.-VNA