According to the Department of Industry and Trade in ${bigcity_Ho_Chi_Minh_City:”Ho Chi Minh City”}, government efforts to stabilize prices in four essential groups: food and foodstuff; school supplies; milk power; and medicines, have been successful, so far at least. Le Ngoc Dao, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Trade, stated at a meeting last Thursday that the said commodities were being sold at 10% lower than the expected market prices. The meeting was conducted to review results of the price stabilization programme this year 2011 after two months of its implementation.

Sectors included in the price stabilization programme had supposedly ensured that there was enough supply to provide for the needs of the citizens and that they were sold at the right prices. Moreover, these participating enterprises have opened more outlets in the city’s outlying districts to reach out to as much clients as they can.

But on the part of the business firms, they claim that their supply is slowly dwindling, disabling them from joining the price stabilization programme. Director of the Bu Huan Company Pham Thi Huan for example stated that the egg supplier from the provinces reduced their daily requirement of 2 million eggs to 30% due to competition from Chinese traders who were doing direct buying of salted eggs from Vietnam for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival. Vissan, a food company, claimed it was losing about VND10,000/ kg on pork products because they were selling the meat at VND82,000-89,000/ kg while market prices per pork kg had increased to VND1000,000.

It is therefore proposed that sectors concerned provide correct market data, including purchasing power, price fluctuations and changes in state management policies so that the participating enterprises can provide the sufficient supply of commodities. Deputy Director Dao assured that there will be a close coordination between the relative agencies and the participating companies in order to reach a
stabilized price for all goods, especially on pork and eggs which have increased prices the most. She further urged these firms to increase their production and maintain adequate supply of goods.

The Department of Industry and Trade steps in by working hand in hand with these participating companies to increase not only the quantity but also the variety of these price-stabilized goods enough to provide the needs of the citizens for the rest of the year. And as mentioned earlier, the government will provide more outlets especially in the Hoc Mon and Can Gio districts as well as in industrial parks so that more consumers can access goods under the price stabilization programme.