Further,officials said they have taken actions to assure prices remain atnormal levels during the longest and most important holiday, whileintensifying checks to stem the influx of counterfeit products.
Answering people's questions during an online meeting held by theVietnam Government Portal, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ho ThiKim Thoa said that price stabilising programme, aimed at keeping theprices of all essential commodities constant during peak season andstarted before Tet, will last even after the festival.
"There have been many enterprises joining the programme with differenttypes of goods, as well as selling places," Thoa said, adding that thenumber of enterprises has been increasing year by year.
The trade official said that in 2011, there were 6,400 locations thatwere covered by price stabilising mechanisms, but last year their numberrose to about 8,000, apart from some mobile sale outlets, not only inbig cities but also in remote areas and industrial zones.
"Enterprises joining the programme have pledged to keep open theirbusinesses until the last few days before Tet. For example, many in HoChi Minh City have pledged to stay open until the last day of the lunaryear and then re-open soon after the Tet period," she added.
According to Thoa, the price stabilising programme has been expandedto include other commodities also, besides the traditional essentialsthat are already covered.
"Moreover, manylocalities have focused on co-operating with each other in attaining abalance or coordinate transportation of goods, as per requirements, amove that has led to formation of new links among them," she said.
However, the trade official admitted that counterfeit and illegal-imported products were available in the market.
"We have issued instructions to all the relevant sectors andlocalities to intensify inspections, as well as exercise control on theissue," she said. "We will also work closely with the ministries ofhealth, agriculture and rural development to inspect food safety andgoods' quality."
The programme, launched by theGovernment, has been implemented and promoted over the last five years,especially during holidays, to ensure that prices do not skyrocket, thussaving customers from artificial inflation when they need goods themost.-VNA