Pork price hits record high at 200,000 VND/kg

Bao Phuong• November 15, 2019 09:59

At the end of the year, pork prices will certainly increase, this is also an inevitable trend because consumer demand during Tet is high, but it will not increase too much and we do not have to worry about a crisis if production is good.

According to information from the Department of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), from the beginning of February 2019 to November 10, 2019, African swine fever has occurred nationwide with a total of 5,851,442 pigs destroyed; total weight is 335,661 tons, equivalent to about 8.8% of the total weight of pigs in the country - this is a huge loss.

Recently, although the epidemic has been well controlled, in many localities the epidemic has passed 30 days, farmers have begun to re-herd. However, in recent days, the price of live pigs in almost all provinces and cities in our country has tended to increase sharply. In particular, in the North, the price of live pigs for slaughter has reached a record high, soaring to 70,000 - 75,000 VND/kg, in some places reaching nearly 80,000 VND/kg.

Meanwhile, pork prices at stores, supermarkets, and traditional markets have also skyrocketed to 130,000 - 170,000 VND/kg, with many types of meat even reaching 200,000 VND/kg.

Không đến mức khủng hoảng, nhưng giá thịt lợn được dự báo sẽ tăng cao trong dịp Tết

Not to the point of crisis, but pork prices are expected to rise during Tet.

This is said to be the highest price in the past 5 years and this price increase cycle is still continuing, showing no signs of stopping.

Because, livestock businesses affirm that with the current price increase, it is difficult to maintain stability, they will have to adjust prices according to the market.

Referring to the reason for the lack of supply causing pork prices to increase to a record high in recent days at the online discussion "Ensuring pork supply and demand during Tet" on the afternoon of November 14, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Duong - Acting Director of the Department of Livestock Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) admitted that it is true that pork prices have increased rapidly recently, but that is an isolated phenomenon.

Accordingly, the mainstream price remains stable at 58,000 - 65,000 VND/kg. In particular, the price of live pigs in the North is in the range of 65,000 - 66,000 VND/kg; the price of live pigs in the South is 60,000 - 61,000 VND/kg.

“Thus, the main reason is not that we have a huge shortage of supply but there are problems with circulation and information. The fact that the price of live pigs is up to 75,000 VND/kg is an exception,” the leader of the Department of Animal Husbandry affirmed.

According to Mr. Duong, this phenomenon is due to the fact that in the past, traders mainly bought from farmers, but now farmers have almost no pigs left, and the pigs that are as expensive as gold will naturally increase in price; many traders cannot access the supply from large enterprises because they sell by the truckload, in large quantities, through long-term suppliers.

“I repeat, we are not in a crisis of pork shortage, many localities such as Bac Giang and Hung Yen still have quite large pig herds. The problem of circulation and information has created a negative psychology and social effect." Mr. Duong said that in addition to pork, we also have quite abundant seafood, so there will not be any big fluctuations if we organize well.

However, the leader of the Department of Animal Husbandry said that at the end of the year, pork prices will certainly increase, which is an inevitable trend because consumer demand during Tet is high, but if it increases too much, we will not worry about a crisis if production is good. If there is no good direction, traders will create virtual prices and push prices up.

Thịt lợn giá đắt đỏ, dân được khuyên chuyển sang ăn thịt gà, cá, tôm

Pork is expensive, people are advised to switch to eating chicken, fish and shrimp.

"To proactively source food, consumers should also change their meal structure. Yen The hill chicken, carp, and grass carp are very delicious. Switch to using these foods, instead of just using pork. This is also a way to share difficulties with livestock farmers and the Government," he shared.

We do not have quotas for importing pork or poultry, we only check the quality but do not have the right to allow or not to import. This year, pork imports have increased compared to last year but not much, the supply of pork on the market is still controlled and decided by the Vietnamese.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Duong - Acting Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry