HCMC – Despite the soaring prices of input materials, including fuel and construction steel, inflation will be well controlled and stand at under 4% this year, said Nguyen Thu Oanh, director of the Price Statistics Department under the General Statistics Office.
The consumer price index (CPI) in January increased by 1.94% year-on-year, posing a potential surge in inflation in 2022, Oanh said, adding that during the first months of the year, the prices of goods in several countries soared, negatively impacting domestic prices.
However, with the Government’s experience in controlling inflation over the past many years and the effective collaboration between departments, agencies, cities and provinces, this year’s inflation will still be under control at under 4% as targeted by the National Assembly, according to Oanh.
Oanh also presented multiple solutions to bring inflation under control in 2022 and the coming years. Among them, the Government, ministries and localities should keep a close watch on global prices and inflation to promptly adjust domestic prices and inflation. Besides, it is necessary to forecast the prices of some items at risk of short-term and long-term shortages to apply appropriate measures.
The Government should also control the prices of input materials and promote the consumption of locally-made materials, including steel for construction, to gradually replace imported ones, helping reduce fluctuations in local prices.
The country is dependent on imported materials. The 2012 statistics indicated that Vietnam’s dependence on imports was 37%, the local media reported.
When the global prices of materials used in many fields jump, local exporters must import these materials at high prices, pushing up production costs and the prices of products. Specifically, high fuel prices will pile pressure on residents and the logistics industry, leading to a potential increase in inflation.
In addition, the Ministries of Industry-Trade and Finance should closely watch the changes in the prices of oil and gasoline worldwide and work with the national fuel price stabilization fund to bring fuel prices under control effectively to reduce the impact on CPI.
Apart from the flexible use of monetary policy and fiscal tools to control inflation, it is vital to quickly update information about items and prices to stabilize customers’ sentiment.
