Under the document issued by the Government Office, the Prime Minister ordered close coordination among the ministries of Industry and Trade; Finance, Agriculture and Rural Development; and the State Bank of Vietnam to fight the price hike, the news website www.chinhphu.vn reported.

Despite tough measures from relevant ministries and agencies, prices of many essential commodities and services are still rising, harming the macroeconomic balance, according to the news website.

The Ministry of Finance is told to oversee the conformity to the Pricing Ordinance among business, especially prices of cement, steel, fertilizer, dairy products, medicine and transport services. Trading enterprises will have to abide by regulations on price registration, according to the documents.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is told to work with the Finance Ministry to probe into the recent rise in petrol prices, and to map out a new scheme on regulating petrol prices.

It is said that oil traders have repeatedly raised petrol prices in recent weeks despite fairly stable prices on the global market, and this move has adversely affected the local consumer price index.

Meanwhile, other manufacturers in the cement and steel industries have hinted at increasing prices in the coming time, with some steel makers in particular planning to hike prices by up to 10%, citing the power price hike.

In a meeting last week, chairman of the National Financial Supervisory Commission Le Duc Thuy blasted some member companies of the Vietnam Steel Association for their plans to raise steel prices by 10%. Thuy Pointed out that while power accounted for a mere 10% of the input cost for the steel industry, “it is unreasonable for steel companies to raise prices by 10%.”

In the document, the Prime Minister also urged ministries to take necessary measures to reduce trade deficit in the coming time. The Government leader made it clear that technical barriers should be deployed to prevent the import of luxury consumer goods as long as such measures still conform to international conventions.

(VNBusinessnews)