Will pork prices not surge dramatically during the Lunar New Year season?
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the price of live pigs will not increase dramatically like during Tet (Lunar New Year) in 2020 because, with a total pig population of over 27.3 million, domestic demand is basically met.
In early 2020, due to the impact of African swine fever,live pig pricePork prices have skyrocketed in the market, at times reaching 100,000 VND/kg (live weight). Meanwhile, pork accounts for more than 60% of the food group index basket.
However, solutions such as restocking herds and importing pork and live pigs from Thailand helped to quickly cool down domestic pork prices in late Q3 and early Q4 2020 to around 65,000 - 75,000 VND/kg. Stabilizing supply and lowering pork prices contributed to keeping Vietnam's CPI in 2020 below 4%.
 |
| A pork stall at Dien Thanh market (Dien Chau). Photo: Xuan Hoang |
Regarding pork prices during the Lunar New Year season, Mr. Nguyen Van Trong, Deputy Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry, stated that the total pig herd nationwide has recovered to over 88% of its pre-Tet level. The Department of Animal Husbandry recently inspected and reviewed several large and key livestock farming areas and found that in some places, live pig prices reached 83,000-85,000 VND/kg. However, this is due to buying and selling through multiple intermediary agents, while the general price at the farm gate across all three regions is currently fluctuating between 78,000-82,000 VND/kg.
"The price of live pigs will not surge like it did during Tet in 2020 because with a total pig population of over 27.3 million, we are basically self-sufficient in food for Tet," Mr. Trong said.
Regarding the recent increase in live pig prices, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien stated that there is no need to worry too much, because according to market trends, as Tet approaches, not only pork but most other food items tend to increase in price due to high demand.According to Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, at this point, it can be confirmed that there is nothing to worry about regarding the supply and demand of food for the occasion.Lunar New YearIn the near future, production will be abundant. Specifically, seafood production has reached over 8.4 million tons; livestock production has reached 5.4 million tons of meat, including 3.48 million tons of pork.
"The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has observed that many localities are proactively stockpiling for Tet, with supplies increasing by 10-20% compared to normal days, so we can rest assured about food security during Tet," Deputy Minister Tien stated.
