Supermarkets team up to stabilise market prices during the Tet holiday.

The Ministry of Finance is keeping a close watch on market prices to forestall any illegal commodity hoarding and price hikes in the lead up to the traditional lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

Tet is considered the most tempting time for traders to stockpile necessities, mostly foods and foodstuffs, causing market scarcities of supplies and driving up prices.

The pricing management department under the ministry will dispatch inspection teams to all three regions of the country, putting market speculation and trade fraud under the microscope.

This year, inspection teams will also fan out to remote and mountainous areas to keep abreast of pricing trends there.

The department will work closely with other sectors to balance commodity supply and demand in the hope of stabilising market prices.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy head of the department, says his department has even devised plans to control the market after Tet – a sensitive period when commodities for daily consumption become scare.

“We will keep a tight grip on the market to ensure the prices of commodities, especially necessities, remain stable before, during and after Tet,” says Tuan.

He predicts that the consumer price index in the first months of 2013 will follow annual trends, hovering around 1 percent.

He says the government is intent on implementing appropriate price adjustment plans in 2013 to avoid any market shocks.

Commodities of special public concern such as electricity and medical services will be strictly scrutinised to minimise a double impact on people’s lives.

Source: VOV