Trade ministry strives to meet surging demand during Tet

Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has directed its agencies and companies to stock up on goods to meet demand which is expected to surge during the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

The Ministry’s Domestic Market Department reported that stockpiles of various consumer goods, ranging from confectionery, beverages to fresh food, increase by 10-15 percent from last year.

Localities, enterprises and relevant agencies were asked to apply measures to ensure supply-demand balance, and bring goods to rural, mountainous and island areas, especially those hit hard by disasters.

At the same time, the MoIT directed market management agencies of cities and provinces to crack down on smuggled and fake goods.

In coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Finance Ministry and the State Bank, the MoIT sent working teams to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and the central provinces of Quang Binh and Nghe An to check preparations for the holiday, which is the most important one in a year for Vietnamese.

According to the department, 44 out of 63 cities and provinces have devised plans for commodity stockpiles, 21 of them are conducting the market stabilisation programme by connecting businesses with credit organisation or offering interest rate subsidy for businesses to buy goods.

The MoIT also partnered with the MARD and local governments to boost consumption of safe farm produce and inspect food hygiene.

The two ministries have worked together to review supply-demand balance and devise solutions to ensure supply./.