Dairy firms told to spend less on advertising
Dairy firms told to spend less on advertising
The finance ministry has asked dairy companies to reduce spending on advertising and marketing to enable them to lower retail prices.
The move comes amid a worldwide reduction in the prices of some imported dairy materials.
In a document to provincial finance departments reviewing the implementation of the price stabilisation of dairy products for children under the age of six, the ministry asked the departments to continue conducting spot checks on and registration of retail prices, as well as the publishing of the names of organisations and individuals selling the products.
All price violations will be strictly punished. Companies and individuals operating in the sector are required to report their wholesale and retail prices under existing regulations, but the prices should be no higher than registered maximum prices.
According to the ministry's Decision 1079/QD-BTC dated May 20 on measures to stabilise the prices of dairy products for children under the age of six and Document 6544/BTC-QLG on guidelines in the implementation of measures to stabilise the prices of dairy products, companies and individuals trading in the sector will have to publish their prices beginning November 30.
Nguyen Anh Tuan, head of the ministry's price management department, said the customs declaration of some companies that imported a huge quantity of dairy products showed that the prices remained the same.
Tuan added that from June to September, the prices of most imported dairy products remained the same except for full cream milk powder which fell by 2.57 per cent, skimmed milk powder which rose by 1.45 per cent, and whey powder which rose by 19.52 per cent.
He noted that none of the companies registered to reduce the prices of their dairy products for children under the age of six in spite of the world price decrease for such products.
In reality, the prices of imported dairy materials have yet to be reduced and therefore had no impact on domestic selling prices, he explained.
However, the ministry has asked localities to conduct regular investigations on price registration and publication to closely manage the businesses' input factors.
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