Hanoi authorities planned to stock up on goods and ensure agricultural products and food supplies to prevent price hikes during the Lunar New Year [Tet holiday].    

According to Nguyen Ngoc Son, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, since the beginning of the year, cattle and poultry diseases have basically been controlled. “With the stable cattle and poultry herds, meat supply is ensured,” he said.

The output of meat of all kinds in 2022 reached over 403,000 tons, up 0.3% over the previous year. Rice and vegetables outputs were 953,000 tons and 723,000 tons respectively, Son stated.

He added that the department and its counterparts in 43 provinces and cities will participate in the coordination program to support about 950 food supply chains to provide safe food to Hanoi, representing 57% of the national chains.

A local resident is shopping at Big C Thang Long supermarket in Hanoi. Photo: Thanh Hai/The Hanoi Times

Acting Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade Tran Thi Phuong Lan said the department has asked local businesses to stock up on essential goods worth VND39.5 trillion (US$1.8 billion), which represents an increase of 15% compared to the plan for Tet last year.

Furthermore, local businesses are asked to stick to their plans to secure essential goods. At the end of October, businesses in Hanoi and other provinces pledged to work on ensuring the supply of essential goods for Hanoi to avoid price hikes during the upcoming Tet holiday, Lan said.

The volume of essential goods for Tet will increase from 9% to 30% compared to Tet in 2022. “The supply of goods is abundant, basically meets consumers’ demand,” she added.

At the same time, the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade has been closely monitoring the production situation, the evolution of the disease and the weather to develop response plans.

The city also pledged to continue promoting the "Vietnamese buy Vietnamese products" campaign, thus supporting businesses in production and sales.

Currently, consumer demand is much higher than in the previous days. However, thanks to the Hanoi government's efforts since last October to closely monitor supply and demand, fight contraband and commercial fraud, the market has remained stable.

In addition, Hanoi has promoted communication on the supply and demand situation and market prices, policies and measures to stabilize the market, especially agricultural, forestry and fishery products.