Announcing goods preparations for the Lunar New Year 2020, the ministry said that provinces and cities including Vinh Long, Can Tho, Bac Ninh, Hanoi, Hai Phong and HCMC have mobilized some distribution businesses to stabilize the prices of some fresh products including pork and limit price hike in the coming Tet holiday. In case of big fluctuations, the price will be hiked a maximum of 10 percent per increase time.
The move has helped stabilize pork in particular and other necessary products in general at the year-end.
The ministry has implemented many activities to balance pork supply and demand and stabilize the market. For instance, it has organized meetings with large scale breeding, slaughtering, processing and distribution businesses to draw solutions to stabilize the pork market at the year-end.
Of these, BigC and GO supermarkets have announced to sell pork at nonprofit prices from December 28, 2019 to the end of the Tet holiday in order to side with the Government in pork market stabilization. Meantime, Saigon Co.op plans to increase pork supply by 30-40 percent over normal in the Tet holiday and commits to continuing selling pork at the price under the market stabilization program in all localities.
The Prime Minister and the Ministry of Industry and Trade have instructed to intensify inspection, control and strict handling over speculation of goods.
The Prime Minister has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam to facilitate pork import to make up supply shortage in the domestic market. The volume of import pork is scheduled to approximate 100,000 in the first quarter of 2020.
In the upcoming time, the ministry will continue requiring its departments in provinces and cities to keep a close eye on price as well as supply and demand and focus on stabilizing pork prices. The departments should ask businesses to have plans to ensure supply and stabilize pork prices during and after Tet. In addition, they should work to prevent transport and trade of ill pigs and pigs with unclear origin to make sure food safety. Moreover transport of illegal pigs through the border to neighboring nations should be prevented.
According to the ministry, purchasing power is expected to increase about 10-20 percent year on year and move up 15-20 percent over normal months in the year.
Reports by provinces and cities show that the total value of goods stockpiled for Tet by businesses is estimated to rise 20-25 percent against normal. The volume of goods stockpiled by businesses under the price stabilization program is estimated to increase about 10 percent year on year.
