Hanoi (VNS/VNA) — The industry and trade sector will ensure enoughessential ♛consumer goods to meet shopping needs and promote marketsurveillance to prevent goods smuggling ahe༒ad of the traditional lunar newyear holiday, the Tet, an official has said.

HoangAnh Tuan, deputy director of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministryof Industry and Trade (MoIT), said to avoid a shortage of essential goods,the MoIT plans to balance the supply and demand for consumer goods until thisyear-end and even to the yearly longest festival which will come in early2021. Theministry plans to work with the industry and trade departments in alllocalities nationwide, associations, industries, and manufacturing and retailenterprises to follow supply, demand and prices of essential goods so it canpromptly offer solutions to avoid goods shortages. Theministry has asked departments and businesses to build market stabilisationprogrammes, especially in the period approaching Tet festival,and increase goods selling places in industrial zones and remote areas, Tuansaid. Deputydirector of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade Tran Thi Phuong Lan saidher department will closely monitor the Hanoi market to work out solutions onensuring goods supply for the consumption before, during and after the festival. Hanoiauthorities will also organise many events to stimulate demand on consumergoods, including a fair under the campaign for Vietnamese people usingVietnamese goods, 30 mobile sales trips, 12 Vietnamese goods fairs andother fairs for regional speciality goods, Lan said. Thecapital will also work with other localities to diversify kinds and sources ofconsumer goods for the city's market, such as goods from Ha Giang, Son La, andHoa Binh provinces. Arepresentative of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade said until thisend of the year, it will promote connections between banks and businesses tohelp firms to take soft loans to store essential goods due to higherdemand around the festival. Inaddition, it will organise trade promotion fairs to help businesses signcontracts to buy essential goods for reserves. Meanwhile,director-general of the General Department for Market Surveillance Tran HuuLinh said until the festival, the market management force will continue toimplement anti-smuggling programmes. It will focus on managing consumerproducts often in higher demand during the festival, such as cigarettes,cigars, alcohol, soft drinks, clothes, shoes and cosmetics products. Itwill also continue to work with agencies, associations and localities toinspect potential counterfeit goods, goods with unknown origin, and pricesthat are listed at markets, supermarkets and convenience stores, Linh said. Inthe past nine months, the General Department for Market Surveillance handlednearly 65,000 cases of smuggling, counterfeiting and fraudulent goods,including 6,737 cases in September./.