Accordingly, textbook publishers and distributors will determine textbook prices, but the State will set the ceiling prices. This aims at ensuring competitiveness among publishers and reducing textbook prices to ensure people and students’ benefits.

Chairman of the National Assembly’s Finance and Budget Committee Nguyen Phu Cuong said that it is necessary to control textbook prices because these are essential goods which have a direct impact on people, especially low-income earners.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), textbook prices increased by 0.3 percent in October 2022, while prices of notebooks and writing paper increased by 0.09 percent over September.

Regarding the petrol price stabilization fund, Minister Phoc said that it would be maintained because it aims at stabilizing petrol prices. The fund has shown important effects, acting as a ‘buffer’ to prevent petrol prices from escalating, thus helping curb inflation. He said that a tool to stabilize the prices is still needed.

Deputy Cuong agreed, saying the fund still plays an important role in regulating domestic petrol prices with economic measures, not administrative orders, so removing it is unreasonable.

Many members of the National Assembly’s Finance and Budget Committee said the fund needs to exist for a definite time, and petrol prices must be in accordance with the market.

Some others proposed removing the fund, saying that this is state intervention into the price, which causes domestic and international petroleum prices not to truly reflect the performance of the market.

The government proposed moving 14 groups of goods and services of the list of products put under the state’s price control and adding two other groups into the list.

Tran Thuong