Cattle prices increase slightly, but farmers are still not interested

Prices increased slightly at wholesale markets.

Recorded at U market - the largest buffalo and cow wholesale market in the North Central region in Dai Son commune, Do Luong district (Nghe An), on the 6th day of the 5th lunar month, the wholesale price of buffalo and cows increased by about 1 million VND/head compared to the previous market session.

Mr. Le Van Duong - a long-time buffalo and cow trader residing in Dai Son commune said that in the last 2 U market sessions, this is the third session where the wholesale price of buffalo and cows at the market has increased slightly. Specifically, the price of buffalo is 58 - 60 thousand VND/kg, equivalent to about 22 - 30 million VND/head depending on the condition of each animal; the price of cows is 70 - 72 thousand VND/kg, equivalent to about 18 - 25 million VND/head. Each market session, Mr. Duong buys and sells about 100 - 200 heads, mainly cows. "I buy and sell buffalo and cows from the southern provinces to Nghe An, mainly Phu Yen, according to orders to the northern provinces, for slaughterhouses and restaurants" - Mr. Duong said.

In Dai Son commune, in addition to the U market which is held on the 1st, 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, and 26th of the lunar month, daily transactions and trading also take place at households specializing in trading buffalo and cows, concentrated in hamlets 1 and 2.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Than in Hamlet 2 has been working as a “logistics” worker at U market for decades. On days when the market is not open, she opens a service to take care of buffalo and cows in her garden.

“Bull and cow traders usually stay for 1 session to 1-2 days before shipping the goods. During that time, those who do not have enough barns to temporarily keep the animals will hire care services, including barns and feeding for the animals. In some cases, if the animals are sick or even ill, the care will take longer,” said Ms. Than.

Buffalo and cow traders in Dai Son commune said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, most traders regularly bought buffalo and cows in the western districts of Nghe An (mainly Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Que Phong) and sold them to Laos. However, since 2020, many buffalo and cow traders have gradually abandoned the highland market. The reason is that due to the embargo to prevent the pandemic, the import of goods to Laos has been "cut off"; partly because the price of buffalo and cows has dropped sharply, traders have no profit, and breeders do not want to sell. In addition, the roads are long, travel is difficult, and the increase in gasoline prices has also increased transportation costs.

According to traders, the domestic buffalo and cow trading market is currently facing difficulties in competing on price with buffalo and cow imported mainly from Thailand to Vietnam, which are cheaper than domestic "goods".

Highland farmers do not increase their herds.

The main source of income for Mr. Lau Giong Chua's family in Tien Tieu village, Nam Can commune (Ky Son) is raising cows. Mr. Chua said that before 2019, his family regularly maintained a herd of about 30 cows, with an average selling price of 25 million VND/cow, earning about 200 million VND/year. But since the trading of buffaloes and cows across the Vietnam - Laos border was banned, the price of buffaloes and cows has dropped sharply, at times dropping to only about 15 - 16 million VND/cow, so he and other farmers have not increased their herd; at the same time, they do not want to sell unless they need money.

Mr. Ho Ba Po - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Nam Can commune also affirmed that last year, raising large cattle was the spearhead of economic development for the people here. "At that time, almost every day there were large trucks of traders from the lowlands coming to households to buy cows. The whole Nam Can commune had a total herd of more than 3,000 buffaloes and cows, each household raised at least 5-10 cows and the livestock was regularly re-herded, the people were very excited. But for about 3 years now, almost all households have not increased their herds, raising cattle sparingly because of low prices, traders have also significantly reduced the number of people coming to buy. Sometimes they have not come to buy cows for a whole month, especially since May until now" - Mr. Po confided.

In addition, Mr. Ho Ba Po said that from the end of May to the beginning of June 2024, in the localities of Laos that share the border with Nam Can, there was an epidemic in cattle, so trading between the two sides was even more limited, almost non-existent for the whole month.

Similar to Nam Can, in Muong Long commune, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Vu Ba Xu commune said that for several years now, Muong Long people have not increased their herd of buffalo and cattle, even reduced or switched to raising black chickens. The price of buffalo and cattle has not increased since the beginning of the year, even the fattest fighting bulls are only sold for about 35 million VND/head, unlike before when fighting bulls were sold for 60 to 80 million VND/head. As for normal cows, which used to cost about 25 - 30 million VND/head, in recent years, traders have only bought them for 15 - 17 million VND/head. Moreover, the frequency of traders coming to Muong Long to buy cows has also decreased significantly.

“Previously, traders from Do Luong and Thanh Chuong came here to buy buffalo and cows regularly every 2-3 days. Now, sometimes they don’t come to buy for half a month,” said Mr. Xu.

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Large-scale livestock farming is a key economic sector in Ky Son as well as in other districts in the West. The fact that cattle prices have not increased and that households are keeping a low level of livestock farming has also significantly affected the socio-economic development of this locality. As of the first quarter of 2024, the entire Ky Son district had a total herd of about 11,700 buffaloes, equal to 90% compared to the same period; the herd of cows was about 45,200, equal to 95% compared to the same period.

Currently, the weather is hot, to prevent damage to livestock and poultry, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine is guiding localities to prevent heatstroke for livestock, and promote vaccination according to regulations.

In the whole province, according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the total herd of buffalo and cows in Nghe An province is currently the largest in the country with more than 800 thousand heads. In 2023, Nghe An's livestock industry will develop in accordance with the restructuring direction of the industry, gradually shifting from small-scale, scattered livestock farming to concentrated farm farming. Currently, a number of areas and livestock farming facilities have been formed according to the value chain.