A woman shops for fresh fruits at AEON Long Bien Supermarket in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA) Tuan saidthe National Assembly had set a target of consumer price index (CPI) growth atabout 4 percent for this year.
“The mostimportant thing is to control the prices on the domestic market according tothe mandate from the central administration to the local level. Anotherimportant factor is providing information about the market performance aswell as policies on controlling prices issued by the Government,” Tuan said.
The statemanagement of prices had gradually implemented and promptly adjusted prices ofa number of important goods and services in the domestic economy or goodsaccording to the market demand.
In addition,the role and duties of the State in management, administration and pricestabilisation had also been clarified through macroeconomic mechanisms andsolutions that are suitable to requirements in the economic development process.
Therefore,the representative of the department said that it would closely monitor pricefluctuations on the domestic market, especially essential goods and services,to promptly propose solutions on ensuring the balance between supply anddemand, especially goods with a shortage of supply due to naturaldisasters, pandemic and high demand of goods before, during and after Tet.
In addition,the Ministry of Finance had recommended that ministries and sectors continue toclosely follow the market price situation for specific management. Forinstance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade needed to work closely with theMoF in managing the petroleum price based on the market factors and thePetroleum Price Stabilisation Fund.
Forelectricity, it was necessary to carefully evaluate factors affecting theelectricity price, thereby having a suitable price management scenario.
Tuan saidthis year, the prices of essential goods were expected to be unchanged.Meanwhile, the prices of some goods were very unpredictable due to impacts fromnegative factors for prices, such as fuel products with complicatedfluctuations.
He alsoforecast that storms and floods, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic,were affecting the supply and the market.
The businesssituation of some services such as accommodation, tourism, entertainment andaviation was forecast to face many difficulties.
According tothe General Statistics Office (GSO), Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) inthe first four months grew 0.89 percent year-on-year, the lowest growth rate since2016.
The index inApril was down 0.04 percent against the previous month while up to 2.7 percentyear on year.
Compared tothe previous month, a downturn was seen in the prices of four out of 11 maingroups of goods and services, with housing and construction materials takingthe lead (0.43 percent), followed by post and telecommunication services; foodand catering services, among others./.
VNA
