Shopping season

Localities have provided enterprises with VND2.1 trillion (US$113.5 million) from their budgets so they can reserve more goods for the Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays to avoid rising prices and shortages of goods.

Up to now, companies had stockpiled abundant goods to meet the holiday demand, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu said in an online meeting with localities on Tet preparations on Monday.

According to the ministry, the market and consumption are increasing thanks to consumer confidence and the recovery of the economy.

Overall, demand for goods had risen by 10 per cent over the same period last year, and some regions could see a surge of 20-30 per cent, Tu said.

In Ha Noi, a representative of the municipal’s Department of Industry and Trade said that demand for goods had risen by 20 per cent. Companies that were asked to stabilise the market had stockpiled 4,510 tonnes of rice, 2,420 tonnes of beef and poultry, 940 tonnes of frozen seafood and 80 tonnes of confections and jam.

The Northern Foodstuff Corporation had also prepared 50,000 tonnes of rice to serve people’s demands before and after Tet. For Ha Noi, the corporation would provide 2,000 tonnes of rice.

Trading centres and supermarkets like Metro, Big C and Intimex also had plans to reserve goods worth VND1 trillion ($54 million).

HCM City’s Department of Industry and Trade said that it had given VND422 billion ($22.8 million) to 13 qualified companies. It also asked enterprises to start providing commodities to remote areas, industrial zones and rehabilitation centres.

The city also has more than 1,500 stores to sell goods, doubling the number of last year.

A representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in southern Dong Nai Province, where there are many employees working for industrial zones, said that the province had organised four market days and prepared 12 stores that would supply goods until Thursday, which is the last but one day of the lunar old year.

Eighteen companies were also asked to sell goods in rural and remote areas, the representative said.

In the southern province of Long An, the purchasing demands of 100,000 workers is satisfied. It is predicted that purchasing power in the market would rise by between 5-10 per cent in the last three days of the lunar year.

As the province has a border line of 100km, it has also boosted market management activities to prevent illegal and low-quality imports and fake goods.

Due to the long holiday (nine days), demand for petrol is expected to go up strongly by 30-35 per cent.

The Viet Nam National Petroleum Corporation has asked its subsidiaries to ensure a reserve of petrol to last for at least 30 days.

The Electricity of Viet Nam has plans to provide power and committed not to cut electricity from February 13 to 18.

Concluding the meeting, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang once again asked companies to ensure enough goods and provide customers with timely services, enterprises to continue boosting production and market management authorities to foster inspections on the price and quality goods.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Tags: Tet 2010, Vietnam Shopping season, Vietnam Tet 2010