The people of Muong Lan commune are developing service businesses.

Before 2014, the 28-kilometer road from the center of Sop Cop commune to the center of Muong Lan commune was a muddy, winding dirt road, making trade difficult. With the government's investment, Provincial Road 105 was paved with concrete, facilitating business, services, and trade for over 7,000 people in six lowland villages – Muong Lan, Kha, Phieng Pen, Cong, Na An, and Na Khi. In addition, people from the two villages of Muong Xum and Nam Cuong in Muong Et district, Hua Phan province (Lao People's Democratic Republic), passing through the Pu Ha and Na Vac border guard stations, regularly cross over to buy, sell, and exchange essential goods. This has led to the increasingly diverse and developed trade and service activities in Muong Lan commune, meeting the needs of people both within and outside the commune.

Mr. Lo Van Quan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Muong Lan Commune, said: "Goods here are traded and sold in a wide variety, operating in many forms of wholesale, retail, and agency. In the commune center, there are over 40 business households with diverse occupations, including: 5 food service establishments; 8 transportation businesses; 2 agricultural product purchasing and processing establishments; 13 motorcycle and other machinery repair shops; 21 consumer goods stores and many other shops and agencies, concentrated mainly in Muong Lan and Kha villages. These businesses have created jobs and provided stable income for many local workers."

At Ms. Do Thi Tu's general store in Kha village, all essential goods are available. Ms. Tu said: "The living standards of the people in the commune are improving, and the demand for quality goods is increasing. Meanwhile, more and more businesses are opening up in the communes, so my family competes on product quality, providing consumers with branded goods with complete labels. If people buy in large quantities, my family even has a vehicle to deliver to their homes, so people trust us and come to shop with us in increasing numbers."

Muong Lan commune, being primarily an agricultural area, cultivates 650 hectares of cassava annually, yielding over 7,000 tons; and nearly 770 hectares of corn, with a yield of 6.5 tons/ha. To ensure the consumption of agricultural products, many households have collaborated and invested in purchasing agricultural products locally, generating high incomes. A prime example is the family of Ms. Lo Thi Tinh in Muong Lan village, who has built two agricultural product warehouses covering over 1,700 m2. Ms. Tinh stated that her family purchases over 3,000 tons of fresh cassava tubers and nearly 2,000 tons of corn from the people in the commune annually. After deducting expenses, they earn a profit of 1.2 - 1.5 billion VND per year. In addition, the family provides regular employment for 5 workers, with an average income of 8 million VND per person per month.

The development of trade and services has also made a positive contribution to ensuring revenue in the area. To ensure tax collection is carried out in accordance with regulations, Muong Lan commune closely manages business households in the area. This includes accurately tracking the number of business households to disseminate information and guide them in declaring and paying taxes fully and correctly. In the past nine months alone, revenue from this sector reached over 270 million VND, accounting for 70.5% of the commune's total budget revenue.

In addition, the People's Committee of the commune also coordinated with Market Management Team No. 6 to strengthen market management, combat the trading of prohibited goods, counterfeit goods, substandard goods, and goods of unknown origin, ensuring consumer rights, creating a healthy competitive environment, and contributing to market stability...

The promotion of trade and service development has been helping to improve the lives of the people in Muong Lan commune. In the coming time, the commune will continue to create favorable conditions for households wishing to register their businesses and engage in trade in the area; facilitate access to preferential loans from credit institutions; strengthen coordination with relevant agencies to manage production and business activities according to regulations; promote infrastructure development; and create conditions to encourage the development of services in a diversified manner across various business sectors.../.