Pig prices reverse, farmers avoid making the same mistake

In just the past 2 weeks, the price of live pigs has suddenly increased sharply from 28,000 - 30,000 VND/kg to 40,000 - 42,000 VND, surprising farmers.

What is the reason for the sudden reversal in pig prices and what should pig farmers do about this phenomenon?

The Department of Animal Husbandry recommends that pig farmers should stay calm and not rush to restock at this time.

With the price of live pigs above 40,000 VND/kg, farmers not only escape losses but also start to make profits, because the current price of 1kg of live pigs is around 37,000 VND. However, it must be recognized that despite the sharp increase, the actual price of live pigs above 40,000 VND is only equal to the average price of many years ago. The story that needs to be dissected here is why in less than 2 weeks, the price of live pigs could increase from 28,000 to 42,000 VND?

Through research, the sharp increase in the price of live pigs in a short period of time, leading to the price of piglets increasing from 300,000 VND/pig over 20 days old to 800,000 VND - 1 million VND, is due to the following basic reasons.

First, during the pig price crisis from December 2016 to June 2017, due to price pressure, there was a phenomenon of farmers selling off all the pigs that had been sold or were about to be sold. According to statistics from the Department of Animal Husbandry, during this period, nearly 2 million pigs were sold, so our total pig herd decreased from 29 million to about 27 million. Regarding sows, statistics from the Department of Animal Husbandry also recorded a decrease of about 500,000 - 570,000 pigs, so the sow herd also decreased from 4.2 million to 3.7 million pigs.

The second reason must also be mentioned is the joint efforts of the Government, ministries, branches, localities, especially the armed forces to share and support pig farmers, along with information and propaganda from newspapers, radio, and social networks, which have also brought about quite positive impacts to help stabilize the psychology of pig farmers, so the phenomenon of massive sell-offs no longer exists. In addition, pig farmers have been more cautious and vigilant before intending to restore or reduce their herds.

According to the Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Hoang Thanh Van, it is true that recently there have been price fluctuations and shortages in some sensitive areas due to natural disasters and floods, but these are only local phenomena and do not reflect the entire market. In addition, when seeing the sudden increase in pork prices, some farm owners temporarily stopped selling in the hope of selling at a higher price, creating a false shortage. Some other farmers quickly went to buy piglets and young pigs in the hope of selling them at a price of over 40,000 VND, creating a short-term "virtual fever" mentality.

The price of piglets over 20 days old increased from 300,000 VND/pig to 800,000 - 1,000,000 VND.

In the face of recent fluctuations in pig prices, Mr. Van said that the Department of Livestock recommends that people should remain calm and not rely on the "sudden" recovery of pig prices to expect higher prices. Because according to the Department of Livestock's assessment, with a total sow herd of about 3.7 million and a total pig herd of 29 million, it is enough to supply the entire domestic demand for breeding and pork. Therefore, if the pigs are of age to be sold and have reached the right weight, people should sell them and not keep them because it is difficult for the price to increase further.

In particular, if any livestock households intend to restore their herds, they need to clearly define their operating model according to chain linkage, establish cooperatives or process for FDI enterprises, because the reality of the recent crisis shows that small-scale livestock households with a scale of a few dozen animals are the ones that suffer the most losses due to passivity, lack of synchronization, professionalism as well as lack of market information.

According to Vietnam Agriculture