Hanoi (VNA) - Minister of Industry and Trade Tra🌸n Tuan Anh has asked♌ market management forces to improve their performance in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of businesses and people.

He made the request at a conference in Hanoi on launching the 2019 tasks of the ministry’s Directorate of Market Surveillance. The minister ordered the directorate to speed up the consolidation of its organisational structure and enhance the professionalism of the staff to prevent the situation of “old wine in new bottle.”

Updates on market information remains passive

The Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance officially launched its new model of operation in October 12, 2018. In the past, local market surveillance taskforces were under the management of provincial-level ꧒Departments of Industry and Trade. Under the new model, provincial market surveillance departments were established under the control of the Directorate, and district sections were subject to the management of the provincial departments.

Tran Huu Linh, Director General of the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance, said that since it was established, the directorate has focused on strengthening the apparatus and personnel work. To date, 39 out of the 63 units under the directorate have established Party organisations, and the consolidation of the leadership will be completed in the second quarter of 2019. Units which have completed their Party organisation will conduct the appointment of officials, he noted. Pointing out some of the shortcomings of the market surveillance forces, Linh said the forces remain passive in following market information, resulting in poor management, supervision, control, and forecast of market developments. Furthermore, no formal training programme has been designed for market surveillance forces, causing difficulties for the staff and mistakes in some situations, he said. Under the new model, the forces are responsible for not only checking the consumption of products, for example detecting fake goods, but also handling the root of the problems, so as to better control the market. Linh placed stress on strengthening coordination with the police, border guards, customs officials, marine police, and local authorities in market surveillance; as well as the settlement of smuggling  hotspots in border and densely populated areas like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The market surveillance must be conducted at grassroots level, which means wherever there are commercial transactions, there must be market surveillance – even in the remote areas, he said.

Market surveillance forces must be regularised

Nguyen Van Truong, acting director of the market surveillance department of the northern province of Lang Son – which shares over 231 km of border with China, shared difficulties in market surveillance. He said with only a small number of staff members, it is difficult for his department to prevent cross-border smuggling of counterfeit products. To improve the work, he suggested enhancing coordination between relevant forces, focusing on hotspots and heads of smuggling rings. Meanwhile, acting director of the Hanoi market surveillance department Chu Xuan Kien proposed stricter control of goods circulation in the market to prevent speculation. If relevant forces coordinate efficiently from the border areas, the surveillance of the domestic market will be much easier, he said. Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said that market surveillance forces play a core role in law execution and the inspection of law enforcement in business and production activities. Therefore, the re-organisation of market surveillance forces is an urgent task required to effectively inspect and control the market and towards ensuring public safety, he said. He asked the market surveillance forces to take action and outline specific tasks and change their working style in organising and implementing market surveillance. It is unacceptable that counterfeit goods are still spreading in the market, he said, adding that connection between relevant forces is essential to deal with the issue. Heads of units in areas with prolonged record of spreading counterfeit goods must be responsible for the matter, the minister said, adding that it is necessary to build strong market surveillance forces from central to local levels. He asked to build a formal training project for market surveillance forces to ensure professional and moral qualities. The minister suggested establishing data information centres with statistics from customs to taxation and environment. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will create all possible investment and institution resources to develop market surveillance forces, he affirmed. –VNA