Commodities prices need close control

It is necessary to consider the elements that can affect the prices of commodities so that businesses and producers cannot falsify their costs to raise prices, said Nguyen Tien Thoa, Head of the Price Management Department under the Ministry of Finance, in an interview with VOV reporter.

Reporter: What should the Department focus on to control prices in 2011?

Mr. Thoa: There are some things that need to be done to control prices.

First, prices should follow the market rules and administrative measures to interfere should be avoided. For commodities for which the State has regulated prices, any adjustment should be carefully considered in relation to an approved plans to avoid shocking the economy.

Second, some public services such as education and health care should be socialised, but a State policy should be issued to support low-income people so they can also enjoy these services. The department will control fees and promote auctions and bids, tackle problems with transporting goods to remote areas, organise transportation and promote sales programmes.

Third, factors that can affect the prices of monopolised goods, key products and services as well as products that require businesses to list the prices should also be examined. The department should review and remove some unreasonable fees and reduce the expenses for businesses.

Moreover, the department will closely watch the channel of State payment for products and services that it has ordered both centrally and locally, make plans for reserved goods and subsidiary products, and strictly check public investment.

In addition, in 2011 it must inspect the market more carefully. Although there was good cooperation between related departments and agencies in the previous year, the prices of some products still rose unexpectedly.

Finally, other measures such as disseminating information are also needed to manage prices. Ministries and departments should provide timely and accurate information so the people won’t have to deal with changes in the market themselves and push prices up.

Reporter: As you said, information announced by functional agencies including the Price Management Department is of great importance. Did they not fulfill this task in 2010?

Mr. Thoa: It remains a thorny problem and they will have to improve their performance to stabilise the market.

Reporter: What groups of goods will be under close watch to avoid unreasonable price rises?

Mr. Thoa: The first group will be products that are necessary for production and daily life. The State will control the prices through available regulations and check if businesses post a too high price or include unreasonable costs in their calculation. The second group will comprise 17 price-stabilised products including petrol and gas, steel, cement, fertiliser, medicine, milk and rice.

Reporter: Thank you very much! – VOV

Tags: Vietnam Commodities prices