Price stabilisation programme ‘a success’

The price stabilisation programme for essential goods in HCM City has benefited both consumers and enterprises and contributed to ensure social welfare over the last nine years, heard participants at a review meeting in HCM City yesterday.

Initiated in 2002, the programme stabilises prices of essential goods during Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays, when demand for these items usually increased by 20-40 per cent, said Nguyen Thi Hong, deputy chairwoman of the HCM City People’s Committee.

The programme focuses on eight goods: rice, sugar, cooking oil, cattle meat, poultry, processed foods, eggs, and vegetables.

Under the programme, businesses specialising in production and trade of essential goods are selected to co-operate with the city in planning production, processing and purchase of such goods to meet consumer demand and stabilise prices.

Businesses participating in the programme are eligible for interest-free loans to promote production or to purchase goods and maintain reserves.

Enterprises in turn pledge to sell items at 10 per cent lower than the market price.

The programme became an effective price regulation tool over the past years, Hong said, adding that it helped stabilise prices of essential goods immediately at localities that experienced speculation, and helped residents considerably.

“With abundant goods, reasonable price and good quality, the city has gradually controlled speculation to push up prices,” she said.

The programme also helped the city to control inflation, Hong said, noting that even though HCM City had the country’s highest population density and consumption demand, the city’s price consumer index remained lower than the country’s CPI.

Building on this success, the city began to implement the price stabilisation programme throughout the year from 2010, Hong said.

Enterprises involved in the city’s price stabilisation programme had gained more opportunities to market their products, and accessed preferential capital to develop production and trading, she added.

The minister and director of the Government’s Office, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, praised the programme’s good results over the past years and suggested the city to work with neighbouring provinces to create more sources of goods. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam 2011 inflation, Vietnam economic, Vietnam economy, Vietnam inflation