Government to continue stabilise prices

The finance ministry will continue tightening price management over key products such as electricity, coal and milk to ensure market stability. - Photo vietbao.vn

This is one of the key tasks to be taken by the ministry during the last quarter of the year, said Deputy Minister Vu Thi Mai at a press briefing held yesterday to review the implementation of financial tasks and the State budget in the past three quarters.

Regarding the petrol price, in the past nine months of the year, the ministry, in collaboration with industry and the trade ministry, adjusted petrol prices 17 times, during which the price was increased five times and cut seven times.

Concerning the price of milk, businesses set prices of 768 kinds of milk products for children under six on the ministry's website, the ministry reported, saying that the prices of milk products for children under six had fallen between 0.1 per cent and 34 per cent since June 2014 after the State implemented solutions to stabilise prices.

The prices are expected to remain stable until 2016.

In response to changes of petrol prices and exchange rates, the ministry instructed relevant ministries, agencies and localities to take measures to keep transport fees under control. Most localities asked transport businesses to adjust transport fees in line with these changes of the market.

Regarding the State budget, the ministry also reported that Viet Nam collected VND683 trillion (US$30.3 billion) in the past nine months, a year-on-year increase of seven per cent. Of which, nearly VND51.8 trillion ($2.3 billion) was collected from crude oil.

Collection from import and export activities reached VND187.4 trillion ($8.3 billion) during the nine-month period.

During the period, the country's total State budget spending was estimated at nearly VND824 trillion ($36.6 billion), meeting 72 per cent of the set target and posting a 7.8 per cent year-on-year rise.

Overspending in the State budget was expected to be VND27.5 trillion ($1.2 billion) in nine months or 62.4 per cent of the entire year's estimate.