Vietnam’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) this year rose 3.15 percent over last year, meeting the target set by the National Assembly to keep inflation under four percent, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

At a press conference to announce the country’s socioeconomic performance during the last quarter of the year, and in 2022 as a whole, held in Hanoi on Thursday, the GSO shared that the index in December alone increased 4.55 percent year on year, sending the index for the fourth quarter to 4.41 percent.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes the prices of fresh food, energy, and state-controlled healthcare and education services, in 2022 inched up 2.59 percent against 2021.

According to the GSO, a fall in local fuel prices is the main reason for the country’s successful control of inflation.

Pointing out contributors to the achievement, Nguyen Thu Oanh, head of the GSO’s Price Statistics Department, said the global fuel prices surged in 2022, exerting a significant impact on domestic prices.

Vietnam made 34 fuel price adjustments this year, sending the prices up by some 28 percent over last year, but the prices are still much lower than the global average.

The Southeast Asian nation has flexibly used its fuel price stabilization fund and reduced taxes and fees to control fuel prices.

In addition, the achievement is also attributed to a sufficient supply of food and foodstuffs, as well as a 10.58 percent drop in the pork price.

Moreover, the prices of some services under state management were not revised up as planned. These services included electricity, healthcare, and tuition, Oanh explained.

Regarding the pressure to raise tuition fees next year, Oanh said the National Assembly had set a target to keep inflation under four percent per year in previous years, but the inflation rate was targeted to be below 4.5 percent in 2023, meaning that inflationary pressure will be high next year.

This inflation pressure was attributed to China’s dismantlement of its zero-COVID policy, which will send the demand for goods in Vietnam’s northern neighbor soaring.

Furthermore, the rise in local tuition fees, healthcare service prices, and electricity prices in 2023, as well as the basic salary from July 1, 2023, will put the economy under further pressure.

However, there are some advantages in controlling, specifically the reduction of the environmental protection tax on fuel next year, according to Oanh.

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