On June 8th, during the question-and-answer session with Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai, Representative Trieu Thi Huyen ( Yen Bai delegation) raised the issue that the Government had issued a Decree on increasing the basic salary from July 1st, 2023. Accordingly, the prices of some essential goods and services such as electricity, healthcare, education, and insurance may be considered for increase in the near future according to market price schedules. The representative requested the Deputy Prime Minister to explain the overall solutions for price management to ensure inflation control and avoid the psychological effect of salary increases leading to price increases.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai: Managing prices is an art; it requires utmost flexibility.

Responding to this issue, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai emphasized that price management is an art, requiring utmost flexibility in a market economy with state control. According to Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai, price management must take into account the lives of the people, especially those in remote and disadvantaged areas.

"Price management solutions must be flexible, based on market signals, and must grasp the market to develop management scenarios. For example, with gasoline and diesel, prices increased in the first 10 months of the year but decreased in mid-September," Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai cited as an example, adding that it is necessary to grasp the market and have solutions and scenarios for management. The goal is to achieve the targets set by the National Assembly, such as 4% CPI in 2022 and approximately 4.5% in 2023.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai, maintaining stable prices requires balancing supply and demand. The government is very concerned about this, especially for essential goods such as food and other necessities for the people. In implementing legal regulations on pricing, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai emphasized that goods whose prices are not set by the State must have their prices clearly listed, declared, and regularly inspected.

In particular, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai emphasized the need for thorough dissemination of information so that people understand the government's price control efforts, avoiding uncontrolled inflation and price increases. He stressed that during the period of salary increases, prices must be controlled so that by the end of 2023, the consumer price index (CPI) does not exceed 4.5%.

Also related to salary increases, earlier in the report on the socio-economic situation, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that in the coming period, a roadmap for salary reform will be implemented; and a plan for adjusting the regional minimum wage will be developed accordingly.

NGUYEN THAO