Live cattle prices 'hit rock bottom', beef prices remain high

Beef prices at the barn are "hitting rock bottom" at their lowest level in the past 5 years. Photo: Thanh Phuc

From the end of 2021 until now,The price of buffalo and cattle has continuously decreased sharply,is now at its lowest level in the past 5 years. Currently, the price of buffalo and beef cattle at the barn is at 55,000 - 70,000 VND/kg, down nearly half compared to before the Lunar New Year 2022. The price of live cattle has dropped sharply, while industrial feed, feed from agricultural by-products and veterinary drugs have all increased, causing farmers to suffer heavy losses. Many buffalo and beef cattle farms have had to sell off to keep capital. However, at the present time, it is difficult to sell cattle because there are no traders to buy.

However, at the traditional markets, the price of commercial buffalo and beef is still sky-high. Accordingly, at the traditional markets in the city and surrounding areas, the price of beef ranges from 180,000 - 250,000 VND/kg; the price of buffalo meat is 170,000 - 230,000 VND/kg; the price of veal is from 160,000 - 230,000 VND/kg.

The price of beef and veal at traditional markets has not decreased, remaining the same as when the price of buffalo and cows was at its peak of 100,000 - 110,000 VND/kg. Photo: Thanh Phuc

In rural areas, the price of beef, veal, and buffalo meat is 10,000 - 20,000 VND/kg lower than in the city. In supermarkets and clean food stores, the price of beef and veal is 220,000 - 280,000 VND/kg. This price remains the same as when the price of buffalo and cow was 110,000 VND/kg. Foods processed from beef and veal such as beef ham, veal ham, sausage, beef jerky... remain the same price as before, 280,000 - 300,000 VND/kg of beef ham and sausage; 1,000,000 VND/kg of beef jerky...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa - a self-made food business owner in Vinh city shared: "Newspapers and radio stations reported that the price of buffalo and beef has dropped sharply, to the lowest level in the past 5 years, but every day, when I go to the market to buy buffalo, beef, and veal meat to make ham, sausages, and prepare dishes for customers, I see that it has not decreased. Before Tet, the price of good beef was 250,000 - 270,000 VND, but now it is around that price."

Meat prices remain unchanged, so processed beef products such as ham and beef sausages remain "stuck" at high prices, from 280,000-300,000 VND/kg. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Explain whyprice of buffalo and cows at the barnMeat prices have decreased sharply compared to before, but they remain high. Traders say that because they buy meat from slaughterhouses to resell, if the purchase price is high, the selling price must be high to make a profit.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Toan - a traderbeef businessin Nghi Phu commune (Vinh city) said: “We buy cows from farms, slaughter them centrally, and then sell them to small traders who sell livestock meat at the markets. Currently, the prices of buffalo, cows, and calves have decreased, but other costs from transportation, labor, and slaughtering costs have increased by one and a half times, or even double, compared to the same period last year. Therefore, when these costs are included in the price of commercial meat, the price of meat will increase. For the meat to reach consumers, it has to go through another stage, which is the small traders selling at the market, so the price of buffalo, cow, and calves has hardly decreased.”