Despite constant fluctuations in the world economy and its effects on the domestic financial situation, monetary and commodity markets, the Ministry of Finance has actively performed its role of managing prices and providing advice for the Government in regards to regulating prices in line with curbing inflation, stabilisingmacro-economies and promoting growth.
Price management has been conducted consistently by the Finance Ministry in conformably with the market mechanisms and the regulation of the State to ensure the transparency for the public.
In general, the market prices in 2019 rose during the Lunar New Year then proceeded to decrease just slightly in March, then gradually increased again over the next two months, then once again fell in June, and finally went up in the remaining months of the year.
According to the General Statistics Office, the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) in 2019 is estimated to increase by 2.7-2.8% compared to 2018 which is close to the forecasts and scenarios that the Ministry of Finance predicted at the start of the year.
CPI in the remaining months of the year tended to rise due to the impact of several objective factors but the prices were still kept under close control.
The Finance Ministry said that CPI rises in 2019 were attributed to the price increases of several consumergoods, foods, catering services, beverages, public transport and tourism during the major holidays, Lunar New Year and summer holidays.
In addition, the prices of fuel and energy such as oil, petrol and gas advanced in the early months of 2019 due to the rise in prices at a global scale . The prices of a number goods and services managed by the State were adjusted to increase including the prices of electricity, text books, and health services which also contributed to raise CPI.
In the second half of this year, the domestic market price was also put under great pressure from the rapidly increasing prices of pork due to the African Swine Feverpandemic.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the ministry has actively collaborated with other relevant ministries, sectors and localities to drastically implement price management methods to stabilise their markest, control inflation, stabilise macro-economies and stimulate economic growth. In particular, amid the increasing prices of pork in the final months of this year, the ministry has timely reported the ongoing situation to the Government and worked out measures to stabilise the market and ensure the supply of pork in order to reduce expected inflation of this essential commodity.
The National Assembly adopted a resolution on the socio-economic development plan for 2020 at the 14th National Assembly’s eight session held in November this year,targeting below 4% CPI in 2020.
The year 2020 is anticipated to see many factors contributing to pushing prices higher, including the adjustment of prices of some public services according to the set roadmap, fluctuations of fuel prices (petrol, LPG) in the world market, and uncertainties caused by trade wars and geopolitical tensions around the world.
Meanwhile, a number of factors are expected to restrain CPI in 2020 including the low prices of commodities in the world market, stable prices of food at the domestic market, abundant supply of goods at the domestic market, and the stability of the monetary policy, exchange rates, and interest rates.
The management of prices and control of inflation in 2020 should be implemented in a prudent, flexible and proactive manner to curb inflation according to the target set by the National Assembly.
The Ministry of Finance needs to coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to closely monitor market prices, make accurate forecasts and build scenarios of price management over essential goods to ensure a curbed inflation.
