Committee established to manage the price of goods
Committee established to manage the price of goods
Vientiane authorities have expressed confidence that they will be able to keep the price of goods stable once the government increases the salaries of state officials in October.
“The capital has established a committee to monitor the price of goods and services and find measures to suppress inflation,” a senior official at Vientiane Industry and Commerce Department, Mr Nouman Bhodisane said last week.
Mr Nouman made the comment amid worries that the price of goods and services will rise considerably once the government increases the salary of state officials by nearly 40 percent. The government will also provide a living allowance of about 760,000 kip per person per month.
Members of the public are worried that the increased purchasing power will cause higher inflation, noting that Laos has been unable to control the price of goods despite achieving major success in terms of boosting GDP growth.
He said that the committee would consist of different sectors including trade officials, which will monitor the price of general goods and services. Agricultural officials will also help to monitor the price of agricultural produce and livestock while transport officials will oversee the price of bus services and other transport services.
The committee members will work together as a team to discuss measures and solutions to adjust the price of the goods and services in the capital, he said.
“In some cases, we will have to intervene into the market to secure the supply of goods and services,” he said, adding that the capital has a rice stockpile which it can release onto the market if demand for rice increases, in order to stabilise prices.
According to a notice from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Vientiane and the provinces are responsible for the price of 20 goods and services including rice, fish, pork and beef. The ministry will manage the price of three goods including fuel, cement and steel.
Mr Nouman said one of the best ways for trade officials to keep price of the foods stable is to secure supply of the goods amid rising demand, explaining that the sectors concerned must cooperate with each other to secure a sufficient supply.
He said that trade officials had been sent to monitor the price of goods and services in Vientiane regularly, and they discovered that most of the core foods such as pork and beef have been stable over the past months.
However, he admitted some vendors in Vientiane sell pork for higher than the official reference price, which permits traders to sell pork for 30,000 kip per kg.
Some of the markets sell pork at about 32,000 kip to 35,000 kip per kg, he said, adding that the trade officials would look into the matter and establish why traders were selling pork for prices higher than they were permitted to.
Mr Nouman confirmed that trade officials will complete the reference price for rice this month and other foods this year.
vientiane times
