Pertemuan ho chi minh city dilanjutkan di kota

Accordingly, the city’s Vice chairman checked the implementation of preventive measures to prevent Covid-19 at the Ehome 3 apartment building, Nam Long residential area in Binh Tan District, and My Phuc apartment building in District 8.

Visiting these places, he praised the security force’s efforts at isolation zones and reminded them to protect their health and ensure safety for residents.

In the early morning of June 18, the delegation made a surprise check at Binh Dien whosale market in District 8.

The city’s Vice chairman praised Covid-19 infection prevention and control works at Binh Dien wholesale market, such as propaganda on mask-wearing and online application for health declaration.

On the other hand, the market also installed control measures for the entry and exit of customers at all entrances, a facial recognition system, automatic infrared body temperature thermal scanners to monitor workers from remote locations, propaganda on mask-wearing and fines for those breaching Covid-19 rules.

Vice Chairman Duong Anh Duc noted that Binh Dien whosale market has a high risk of spreading virus due to the large number of visitors. He saw several people wear masks that are not in accordance with regulations.

The leader asked the market’s management board to strengthen the inspection of the imeplementation of measures and builtd a pandemic response plan for the situation that has unexpected changes.

Vice Chairman Duong Anh Duc has been previously appointed as the leader in the combat against Covid-19 in the city by the HCMC People’s Committee.

Back to domestic supply

Mr. Tran Viet Anh, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Union of Business Associations, said that the prices of imported plastic materials delivered in April rose by more than 30 percent compared to the end of last year. In May, the price of ABS plastic pellets set a record high after advancing for 12 consecutive months, up about 130 percent-145 percent, depending on the market. In addition, other plastic materials, such as GPPS and HIPS plastic pellets, also increased from 100 percent to 120 percent. This price increase has stunned many enterprises amid the context that the purchasing power is declining.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Hien, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Food and Foodstuff Association, also informed similarly but said that there was good news. Previously, food processing enterprises had to import up to 60 percent of raw materials, but since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, many enterprises have returned to seek domestically-made raw materials.

As one of the largest producers of milk and dairy products in Vietnam, Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) always needs a large amount of fresh milk for production. To take autonomy in the supply, the company has been cooperating with 6,000 dairy farmers and investing in building 13 dairy farms, along with the merger of Moc Chau Milk Company to have a total herd of 150,000 dairy cows.

Not stopping there, Vinamilk recently officially put into operation a dairy farm in Laos with up to 8,000 dairy cows. The farm can supply more than 120 tons of milk per day, equivalent to nearly 44,000 tons of milk per year, supplementing a large volume of raw materials for Vinamilk’s factories in Vietnam and abroad, helping the company to be more proactive against the imported raw materials.

Along with Vinamilk, many enterprises producing food, foodstuff, and essential goods have also returned to search for available domestic raw materials. Before the pandemic, these enterprises often preferred to choose imported raw materials because of their low prices. Currently, the price of domestic raw materials is still high, but enterprises can save shipping costs.

Moreover, authorities and many localities have quickly supported farming households to link into cooperatives and joint ventures to stably supply raw materials in large quantities for enterprises. This is also an important factor for enterprises to return to domestic raw materials.

However, as for raw materials that cannot be produced domestically, enterprises are forced to import them at high prices. Those materials include preservatives and PVC film. Worryingly, the prices of these materials have soared by tens of percent compared to the same period last year. This is forecasted to negatively affect the purchasing power of the market, which is falling sharply due to the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Switching products flexibly

According to Dr. Huynh Thanh Dien from the University of Economics of Ho Chi Minh City, in case that enterprises are forced to import raw materials, the market must accept the price increase of goods. The disruption of the supply chain, along with the fact that countries strengthen trade remedy measures and increase anti-dumping duty, will also cause the raw material prices to escalate globally in the coming time. The increase in the selling prices due to rising raw material prices will trigger short-term shocks to the market. The current survey shows that raw materials supplied from the Chinese market are still cheaper than other markets. Therefore, besides looking for more sources of imported raw materials, enterprises need to have firmer negotiations and contract signings with suppliers from the Chinese market.

Dr. Huynh Thanh Dien also said that the Government and functional agencies need to have appropriate and timely support solutions for enterprises quickly. As for FDI enterprises operating in the supply chain, the increase in raw material prices always has a commitment roadmap, as well as strict regulations, so the level of damage in the market will not be significant.

For the remaining enterprises, according to Dr. Huynh Thanh Dien, authorities need to accelerate support packages, especially the loan package with incentive interest rates. On the other hand, tax rescheduling and tax reduction policies need to be implemented more effectively. Enterprises are longing for the State to reduce value-added tax and support vaccination for workers soon because it decides the survival of enterprises. However, in the opposite direction, enterprises must also understand that the support resources from the Government are limited, and hard to support all enterprises amid the context that the budget revenue is also affected by the pandemic. Therefore, enterprises need to actively reduce fixed costs, make the most of the policy that allows tax payment rescheduling and deferral. Most importantly, enterprises need to flexibly switch products to suit the current needs.

Children accessed the internet to study online during the Covid-19 fourth wave broke out. One day at the end of May, a parent in Ho Chi Minh City was shocked at knowing that a man threatened to share the “hot images” of her ninth-grade daughter online if the daughter didn’t satisfy his requirement.

Since the country has implemented social distancing, the pretty daughter has surfed the internet and developed an acquaintance with many people over the Internet.

One of her acquaintances is a man who claimed to be a final-year university student. The young man called her “beautiful” saying love the girl. The man continuously asked the little girl to take pictures and send them to him. However, when the girl realized he is not a good man wanting to stop, the man threatened to post her previous photos online. Fortunately, her parents discovered and intervened, the young man disappeared.

At the height of nationwide lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many children were affected by school closures; they had no choice but access to the internet. The United Nations Children’s Fund said that children spend more time on virtual platforms and smaller children started accessing to internet.

If the Internet is used properly, it can massively enhance people’s creativity in all areas of work and life around the world. However, using the internet also poses potential risks such as cyberbullying. The internet is linked to an increased risk of suicide and self-harm among vulnerable adolescents. Worse, the internet poses the risk of online sexual abuse like the above girl.

According to UNICEF, every child must be protected from violence, exploitation, and abuse on the internet. Vietnam’s first-ever national program on child protection online is assessed as a progressive move to pave the way for later legal issues for better protection of children.

A representative of the Association for Protection of Children’s Rights in Ho Chi Minh City highly valued this program which required the coordination of many competent agencies. According to the association, the Ministry of Information and Communications has the accountability to intervene and handle promptly when bad information or violent acts appear on the internet.

The national program on child protection online emphasized the Ministry of Education and Training’s responsibility in providing digital training for children while the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs will establish consultation channels to offer children skills in using the internet. The website for children protection on the virtual environment at https://bvte.vncert.vn/ has been piloting.

The Department of Information and Communications in HCMC on May 27 decided to impose an administrative fine of VND15 million on the owner of the YouTube channel Timmy TV, forcing the owner to close the channel before May 28 because the channel has posted harmful video content on children.

According to UNICEF, 70 percent of young people globally were not aware of any helpline or service in case of cyberbullying. In the three first months of the year, the helpline 111 in Vietnam has received 77,920 phones including 2,476 calls about child abuse, psychological health consultations, and 280 calls asking for assistance on child sexual abuse, violence on children.