Residents in Bàn Thạch craft village in Quảng Nam Province. — Photo phapluathcm.vn

HCM CITY — With only a few days left until Tết (Lunar New Year), artisans in craft villages are scrambling to make products like sticky rice cakes and other traditional cakes, jams, dried shrimp and others to supply to the market.

Tết is the time of peak demand for these products, with every family buying various kinds of cakes, jams and others to offer guests, wish hosts a happy new year or for themselves to enjoy together.

In Vĩnh Hòa village in the central Nghệ An Province’s Yên Thành District 210 families make sticky rice cakes, an item liked throughout the country.

Before Tết each of them increases production by 100-150kg of sticky rice compared to other times.

Bùi Thị Nhung of the village said she has got five times more orders from Vinh city and its neighbouring districts than last year.

Nguyễn Mão, chairman of the village’s Hợp Thành Co-operative, said local products are very diverse and not restricted to sticky rice cakes.

They are sold outside the province including in Hà Nội and HCM City, he said.

Artisans in many craft villages in Trà Vinh Province are busy. Nguyễn Thị Diễm, the owner of Trà Cuôn sticky rice cake establishment in Cầu Ngang District, said she has increased production from 7,000 cakes a day to 9,000 because of large orders.

Bùi Văn Chương, head of the Tân Phát Lợi Dried Shrimp Co-operative in Cà Mau Province’s Ngọc Hiển District, told Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) that orders for the co-operative’s Rạch Gốc dried shrimp are too large to meet.

It, therefore, gives priority to supplying regular customers, Chương said.

Because demand for the product is high while supply is limited, prices have been increased by 20-30 per cent, he added.

In Đồng Tháp Province, the Lai Vung District People’s Committee said production of fermented pork roll at the Lai Vung village has been increased to meet the rising demand in markets in the region as well as Hà Nội and HCM City.

Price stabilisation

To ensure prices do not suddenly rise during Tết, many provinces have price-stabilisation programmes.

Trần Quốc Tuấn, head of the Trà Vinh Province Department of Industry and Trade, said seven enterprises are taking part in a VNĐ57 billion (US$2.5 million) price-stabilisation programme.

According to Cần Thơ city Department of Industry and Trade, supermarkets have plentiful stocks and stable prices.

Cần Thơ is the main retail market in the Mekong Delta, and so market management authorities are co-operating with relevant agencies to strengthen inspections to prevent fake goods and sudden price hikes.

Lê Minh Đức, head of the Long An Province Department of Industry and Trade, said provinces in the region have signed an agreement with the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade to assist each other with goods supply during Tết.

If any province faces a shortage of any item during Tết, it would be helped out by other provinces, he said. —VNS