Laying operational foundation amidst new growth targets

The conference was attended by representatives of central ministries and agencies, units under the Ministry, and key localities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Delivering opening remarks at the conference, Director General of the Domestic Market Department Tran Huu Linh emphasized that the event held special significance, as it not only reviewed 2025 but also prepared for 2026, the first year of the new development period of 2026-2031. According to him, this is a period where the Government sets a double-digit growth target, requiring the domestic market to be clearly identified as an important pillar in the growth structure.

“Domestic consumption currently accounts for approximately 55% of GDP. To achieve double-digit growth, domestic consumption must shoulder a significant burden. Other resources such as private investment, public investment, or import-export have nearly reached their rapid growth limits, making domestic demand stimulation a particularly important task,” he emphasized.

Consequently, to attain the set double-digit growth target, the economy cannot rely solely on private investment, public investment, or exports sectors with narrowing growth room but must focus on strongly activating domestic purchasing power, regarding domestic consumption as an “engine” rather than merely a “consequence” of growth.

Amid preparations for Party Congress documents and new socio-economic development scenarios, the MoIT is finalizing a separate Resolution on stimulating domestic consumption. The Director General stated that this resolution was developed based on extensive consultation with localities, industry associations, and the business community, and would serve as a core policy to generate significant momentum for the market right in 2026.

Alongside policy orientation, the Director General highlighted the need for a comprehensive innovation in the Domestic Market Steering Team's operations. He noted that while many previous meetings merely reported on market developments, the Team's most critical task is providing advice to the Ministry and the Government. Therefore, starting in 2026, the Team must upgrade its working methods, enhancing analysis, forecasting, and solution proposals to timely identify market trends, mitigate risks, and increase policy response capabilities.

2025 market landscape and 2026 management requirements

The 2025 market landscape presented at the conference demonstrated remarkable stability in the domestic market amidst a globally volatile economy. Shocks from geopolitical conflicts, diverging monetary policy adjustments by major economies, global commodity price fluctuations, and pressure from imported inflation all directly impacted Vietnam's economy.

However, thanks to the Government's drastic direction and synchronous coordination among ministries, sectors, and localities, goods supply was guaranteed, ranging from essential consumer goods to items serving production.

At many peak times, especially amidst natural disasters and floods in the Central and Northern provinces, the distribution system maintained smooth goods flow, avoiding local shortages or abnormal price hikes. This reflects the effectiveness of market stabilization programs as well as the proactive role of major distributors. Domestic purchasing power continued to recover, contributing significantly to maintaining the growth pace of retail and related production-service activities. 

Price management was implemented closely following market developments, thereby keeping the average CPI in 2025 at 3.31%, within the limit assigned by the National Assembly. Additionally, the price management of strategic items such as petrol, electricity, and food was carried out cautiously, closely following global fluctuations to avoid creating price shocks for the economy.

Along with price management, market inspection and control were strongly reinforced. The market surveillance force nationwide handled tens of thousands of violations related to smuggling, counterfeit goods, goods of unknown origin, commercial fraud, and intellectual property violations, especially in the rapidly developing e-commerce environment.

The National Competition Commission strengthened the reception of complaints and supervision of product recall programs to protect consumer interests. The Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency coordinated with e-commerce platforms to remove a series of infringing products, contributing to cleaning up the online business environment.

However, entering 2026, market management challenges are forecast to increase significantly. External instabilities continue to threaten supply chains, while transport, energy, and input material costs are likely to fluctuate strongly. Simultaneously, extreme weather and potential epidemics directly affect agricultural production and essential goods. In this context, achieving the economic growth target of over 10% requires the domestic market to truly become a solid pillar, stabilizing supply and demand while creating room to promote consumption.

He emphasized that the Domestic Market Steering Team needs to continue upholding its role as a focal point for analysis, forecasting, and policy recommendation, fully gathering opinions from ministries, sectors, and enterprises to finalize advisory reports for the Ministry and the Government.

“2026 requires a new approach, a new mindset, and greater proactivity. The Domestic Market Steering Team must truly become a strategic advisory body, accompanying the regulatory agency in all market developments,” he shared.

The year of 2026 acts as a pivotal period, requiring market management work to change strongly in method, quality, and policy response speed. Ministries, sectors, localities, and enterprises are requested to continue contributing opinions for the Steering Team to finalize the report, preparing for a new management phase with higher requirements for market stability and growth creation.