Over the past months, Vinmart Yen Bai has moved to coordinate with producers and suppliers to double the supply of essential goods and increase product quality checks, especially over Tet food, by 5- to 10-fold compared to the remaining months of the year.

Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Director of the Tuan Tuyet trading company, based in Hop Minh ward of Yen Bai city, said it is very difficult to forecast the consumption demand during Tet amid the current COVID-19 context. It is necessary to gear up for different scenarios, especially when the pandemic becomes complicated, so as to take appropriate actions.

The firm has stockpiled goods worth about 20 billion VND (nearly 882,000 USD) for Tet, he noted, adding that prices will rise by about 5 - 10 percent.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Trinh Van Thanh said local business establishments have gained sufficient supply of consumer goods to meet people’s demand. Those products are sourced from major processors and distributors nationwide, so the flow of goods will not be affected and supply still ensured even when demand rises suddenly.

The department has also encouraged and assigned certain units to guarantee goods supply for localities in the province, especially Yen Bai city with total goods value of 51.8 billion VND.

The essential products distributed to serve the Tet holiday, estimated at about 65 billion VND, is set to grow 10 - 15 percent compared to other months of the year, Thanh noted.

He said local business establishments have stepped up stockpiling and distributing goods to retailers across the province, from urban to rural and mountainous areas, to meet the Tet demand and ready supply in case of soaring prices or product shortages due to the pandemic’s impacts.