HCMC – Vietnam should enhance efforts to attain a high economic growth this year, alongside ensuring fundementals of the national economy and curbing inflation at below 4%, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told a meeting of the Steering Committee for Price Management on July 1, adding that it would be a failure if economic growth is accompanied by high inflation.
As such, the Government leader asked the members of the committee to present two solutions for the country’s economic development in the third and fourth quarters of the year to keep prices stable and avoid putting pressure on inflation, VnExpress news site reported.
Data released by the General Statistics Office (GSO) of Vietnam two days ago indicated that Vietnam’s economic growth in the first half of 2020 fell to its slowest pace of 1.81% in a decade.
Meanwhile, a report by the Ministry of Finance showed the country’s consumer price index (CPI) in June rose by 0.66% month-on-month. The average CPI in the first half of 2020 was 4.19%, near the National Assembly-approved rate at 4%.
The Ministry of Finance also introduced two scenarios for price management, with the average CPI in 2020 growing by 3.64% against that of last year in the first scenario. In the second scenario, the average CPI would rise by 3.95%.
The State Bank of Vietnam forecast that the 2020 CPI would rise by 3.7%-4.2%, while the General Statistics Office of Vietnam predicted the country’s CPI this year could increase by 3.5%-3.7% or 3.8%-4.1%.
The prices of some essential products such as pork and food have been kept stable, according to the Ministry of Finance. The surge in the imports of live pigs and efforts in reviving pig herds have stabilized the prices of pork in the local market.
However, the prime minister said that the risk of inflation remains high as the prices of crude oil, food and foodstuffs are expected to rise in the coming months, while many countries have devalued their currencies.
The country should control inflation but not tighten the fiscal and monetary policy, said the prime minister, adding that price management policies to be adopted must contribute to the stability and development of the country’s economy. The prime minister also issued an order keeping electricity prices unchanged in 2020.
