HCM CITY — Authorities would crack down on unsafe food and corrupt officials who collude with fraudulent businesses, standing deputy chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, Trần Vĩnh Tuyến, has promised.

Speaking on a TV programme on Sunday on the issue of “Tết goods, issues requiring attention”, he said the city would even prosecute firms for flouting food safety regulations to safeguard public health.

Earlier consumers participating in the programme had expressed fears of a shortage of goods, price rise and circulation of fake and poor quality goods during the Tết (the Lunar New Year) holidays beginning on February 16.

They wanted the city to improve oversight and crack down on the production and sales of fake and low-quality products.

The city and businesses should also organise mobile sales trips during Tết to enable workers at industrial parks and export processing zones to buy quality goods at reasonable prices, they said.

Trần Thị Ngọc Yến, who works in the Linh Trung Export Processing Zone in Thủ Đức District, said many workers cannot afford to return to their hometown to celebrate Tết.

So they expect the city authorities to help them buy quality goods at reasonable prices by organising fairs and setting up sales outlets in processing zones, she said.

Nguyễn Huỳnh Trang, deputy director of the city Department of Industry and Trade, said businesses have 20-30 per cent more stocks than during last Tết.

The city’s price stabilisation programme would ensure prices of all essential goods are steady before, during and after Tết.

Beer and other beverage producers have assured they will not increase prices while distributors will offer big discounts on essential fresh products such as meat and eggs on the last two days of the old year, she said.

The city plans to set up 10,600 sales spots for price-stabilised goods including 1,000 spots on the outskirts and industrial and export processing zones.

For two months before Tết, there are 420 mobile vending carts selling subsidised goods.

Nguyễn Anh Đức, deputy general director of Saigon Co.op, said since there is abundant supply for Tết, prices would not rise.

“Supermarkets would close only on New Year, and so people do not need to stockpile a lot of goods,” he said.

Trần Tấn Quý, deputy director of the city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said around 20,000 tonnes of safe fruits and vegetables would be available in the market during Tết.

Foods such as pork, poultry products, vegetables and fruits have to be bought from other provinces, and the city is committed to implementing measures to control such goods, he said.

Huỳnh Tấn Phát, deputy head of the Veterinary and Animal Health Department, said there are four fixed inspection stations and the agency has also stationed three inter-agency teams at city entry points to monitor the quality of pork and poultry products coming from other provinces.

The department has also instructed slaughterhouses not to inject pigs with sedatives, he said. — VNS