Vietnam works to control pandemic, ensure sufficient essential goods

Vietnam works to control pandemic, ensure sufficient essential goods

New Covid-19 infections have been detected at a number of industrial zones and businesses in northern provinces and the central coastal city of Da Nang, prompting measures to control its spread and maintain production activities under safe condition. The directions were discussed at an online meeting in May between the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s steering committee for Covid-19 pandemic control and representatives of people’s committees, departments of industry and trade, and market management authorities of centrally-governed provinces and cities. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An told participants that Vietnam has almost 400 industrial parks (IZs), 30 border-gate economic zones (EZs), and 700 industrial zones for small to medium sized businesses, where production must be maintained to prevent disruptions to the economy.

Ensuring supply of essential goods

Ensuring sufficient supply of essential goods for people’s daily lives and domestic production and maintaining safe distribution systems are the focus of Vietnam’s efforts to control the pandemic. Tran Duy Dong, Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Domestic Markets Department, said consumers are relatively calm because they believe in the distribution system’s ability to supply essential goods, and trade in areas facing the fourth wave of the pandemic is being kept stable.

Sufficient supply of goods is being ensured

Tran Thi Phuong Lan, Acting Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, said the department had prepared a detailed plan for supply of goods, under which goods worth VND194 trillion will be prepared for distribution in the capital within three months, and goods worth VND21.5 trillion will be prepared for supply to other provinces and cities if necessary. Goods worth almost VND5.36 trillion will be prepared to serve people in isolated and lockdown areas, Lan said.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the commodity market remains stable with abundant supply of goods and stable prices. The city’s Department of Industry and Trade has provided guidelines for retail and wholesale markets, supermarkets, trade centers, stores and related businesses in the city to implement pandemic control measures. In pandemic-affected provinces, including Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Thai Binh, Hai Duong, Yen Bai, Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, and Quang Ngai, among others, goods markets remain stable, with people’s needs being met and prices remaining stable.

Strengthening inspection and supervision

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is working with departments of industry and trade to monitor the commodity market developments closely in order to promptly deal with supply and demand instability, if any. The ministry is also working with major distributors to operate the supply of goods when necessary and support sales of farm produce. Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien has affirmed that strengthening pandemic control in production and trading establishments is important to fulfill the government’s dual goal - pandemic control and economic development. Therefore, according to the minister, it is urgent to strengthen inspection and supervision and ensure strict implementation of pandemic control measures by economic zones, industrial zones, factories, trade centers, supermarkets, markets, hotels, restaurants and other production and trading establishments.

Pandemic control measures must be strictly implemented in production facilities

Minister Dien asked localities and units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade to strictly follow the ministry’s latest instructions on ensuring the balance between supply and demand and market stability, and prevention of goods speculation in the context Covid-19 pandemic.

VietNam Economic News