The Ministry of Industry and Trade "refuses" to take over the milk price

Depending on specialized ministries

In the draft submitted to the Government at the end of August 2016 on amendments and supplements to some articles of Decree No. 177/2013/ND-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of some articles of the Law on Price, the Ministry of Finance proposed to transfer the task of managingthe price of milk products for children under 6 years old to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

To be more specific, the Ministry of Finance said: In the first months of 2014, this item was put into the price stabilization list by the Government, it has been the only item that was directed for implementation of policies and measures to stabilize prices by the Government, since the Price Law and Decree No. 177 tookeffect.

The implementation of stabilizing the priceof milk for children under 6 years old in the past time has achieved good results on stabilizing the milk price in the market, reducing the burden of unreasonable cost to consumers due to unreasonably high milk price, ensuring the social security, and stabilizing the social situation.

However, the deployment and coordination between all levels and departments from the national to local levels stillhas many difficulties.

According to the Ministry of Finance, milk products for children under 6 years old includes different brands and categories. When the implementation of measures to stabilize the pricestarted, this catalogue was managed by the Ministry of Health but had not been operating. Besides, the Ministry of Industry and Trade manages all commercial counsellor offices abroad, which can find the situation of imported prices in the market, price changes, supply sources of the markets,as well as controlthe market management and competition management office system.

Therefore, when the Ministry of Finance was in charge of implementing the milk price stabilization, the Ministry was dependent on the coordination of the specialized ministries. Locally, the Departments of Finance, which were assigned to implementand guide milk price stabilization by the People's Committees of the provinces, initially encountered many difficulties because there is no catalogue of milk products managed by the Ministry of Health, the inspection and monitoring of milk businesses in the provinceswas difficult, and must rely on market management offices.

Based on the realities of the operation and management of milk prices in recent years, the Ministry of Finance recognized that the role of the Ministry of Industry and Trade was very important, from importing to trading milk in the market because more than 70% of powder milk supply sources in Vietnam were imported.

On September 10th, 2015, the Ministry of Finance sent a report to the Government stating the rules and practices on the management of milk products for children under 6 yearsoldin the past and the need to transfer the task of managingthe price of milk products for children under 6 years old to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

On September 29th, 2015, the Government Office informed the direction of the Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh assigning the Finance Ministry, in coordination with related ministries, to amend and supplement Decree No.177 to overcome the shortcomings arising in the implementation process and be in accordance with the new rules after the law on fees and charges was approved by the National Assembly.

For those reasons, in this draft, the Finance Ministry proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade should receive and review the price application form and giveguidelinesfor milk products for children under 6 years old.

Refusing to take over

Recently, when consulting on the said draft by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade and Industry expressed their views notto take the lead role on the managing of milk products for children under 6 years old.

Referencing the current legislations, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said many documents mentioned that the Ministry of Finance must chair and coordinate with other ministries, ministerial-level offices, provincial-level People's Committees to examine the factors for price formation of goods and services on the list of price stabilization. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade only had a role of coordinating and chairing the management of commercial development as well as the domestic market, ensuring the balance of supply and demand of goods and regulating the circulation of goods in each period, etc.

Contributing directly to the draft, the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated: According to the functions and missions assigned by the Government and the proposal of the Ministry of Finance,the Ministry of Health was the unit that managed this field and had detailed guidelines onfood and milk products for children under 6 years old.

To conform to the provisions of current lawsand the realities of management, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed that the Ministry of Finance should continue to act as the current chair or be in coordination with the Ministry of Health in receiving price declarations, price subscription documents and apply measures to stabilize the price for foods and milk products for children under 6 years old.

According to their functions and missions, the Ministry of Industry and Trade would continue to be the office to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health in implementing state management on market development and distribution system for items including milk products for children under 6 years old and foods for children under 6 years old.

The comments on the drafting of theDecree to amend and supplementDecree No.177 continue to be reviewed by the Ministry of Finance in order to report to the Prime Minister.