HCM City told to get tough on prices

Shoppers select refined sugar at HCM City's Co-op Mark chain store. The chain collaborates with suppliers to lower sugar prices as part of its effort to stabilise market prices. - Pho toKim Phuong

The Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, Le Thanh Hai, asked the city to continue the policy of providing no-interest loans for stabilising prices of essential goods.

District authorities were told to prevent any violation of price management regulations and enhance measures to fight speculation and hoarding of goods that may lead to false scarcity of goods in the local market.

Le Hoang Quan, chairman of HCM City People's Committee, told the director of the State Bank branch in HCM City to inform the public of the State's policies on monetary stabilisation that is expected to help the city keep its socio-economic development on the right track.

The HCM City Department of Industry and Trade was asked to coordinate with the city's Market Watch Division, the Customs Bureau, the city's Police force and district authorities to prevent speculation and/or smuggling of gold and foreign currencies.

They were also told to stop the spread of rumours that may cause uncertainty in the minds of residents.

During a meeting with city authorities on Tuesday, the director of the State Bank branch in HCM City, Ho Huu Hanh, affirmed that the Government had no plan to further devalue the Vietnamese dong and that the rumour about a possible change in the Vietnamese currency was "groundless".

Nguyen Thi Hong, deputy chairwoman of the HCM City People's Committee, said the city will boost supply of eight essential goods – rice, sugar, cooking oil, domestic fowl and cattle meat, eggs, processed food and vegetables and fruits – in city markets.

Hong said companies that joined the city's price stabilisation programme must ensure sufficient supply of goods between now and the traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) Festival and sell vegetable and fruits at prices 10 per cent lower than market prices.

The volume of goods in reserve for the price stabilisation programme will account for 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the city residents' demand and can dominate the market during the festival season, said Hong.

She said city market management forces have been coordinating with supermarkets to supervise and monitor customers who are buying sugar in big quantities at supermarkets.

Any speculation regarding sugar will be punished, Hong said.

The monitoring of sugar buyers began last weekend when Co-op Mart reported speculatory buying as supermarkets were selling the commodity at VND4,000 to VND5,000 per kilogramme lower than market prices.

She said sugar was one of the eight essential goods under the city's Price Stabilisation Programme and no shortage of the commodity would be acceptable.