Controlling swine fever, pork prices in Nghe An increase

Mainly slaughtering domestic pigs

Mr. Nguyen Van Anh and his wife in Nam Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) who specialize in pig slaughter said that the price of live pigs has increased significantly compared to a week ago. Currently, pigs raised by small-scale farmers are caught at 40,000 VND/kg, an increase of 4-5 times compared to a week ago.

Pork products at markets in Vinh City are receiving more attention from consumers than before. Photo: Quang An

The reason for the increase in pork prices is that consumers have returned to pork products, not being as hesitant as before. Therefore, every day, Mr. Anh sells almost a 60 kg pig. A week ago, 3 people slaughtered a 60 kg pig together but it was still difficult to sell.

Mr. Nguyen Van Duong - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Yen Thanh district said: There are currently about 100 thousand pigs in the district, of which about 40 - 50% of the total herd is ready for sale. Because African swine fever has not yet occurred in the area, consumers have returned to using normal pork.

In Dien Chau district, the price of live pigs has also increased significantly. Mr. Le The Hieu - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said: For the past 5 days, the price of live pigs has increased to 34,000 - 40,000 VND/kg. The reason is that consumers have confidence in pork. However, the pigs slaughtered are mainly small-scale pigs raised by the people.

In Vinh City, pork prices have started to increase gradually, and the pork market no longer has the scene of traders abandoning their stalls like a month ago. According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuong, a trader at Ben Thuy Market: "Pork here is mainly imported from neighboring communes of the city, disease-free. In March and early April, we had to close because pork consumption was poor, but in the past week, Vinh people have started to return to pork, I have sold 20-30 kg of meat every day, although not as much as before the epidemic, but the signs are better."

Veterinary staff of Dien Chau district check the quality of pork at the markets. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to traders, the reason for the gradual increase in pork prices is that in Vinh City, African swine fever has not yet appeared, so people feel more secure when buying meat. Moreover, with other foods such as beef, chicken, seafood, etc. being expensive, students and workers still choose pork as their main food.

For that reason, the price of pork has also increased. If in March, the price of pork belly, shoulder, and rump was 80,000 VND/kg, now it has increased to 90,000 VND/kg... It is expected that the price of meat will increase further, especially in the condition that some localities in the province have announced the end of African swine fever.

Although pork prices have increased in recent days, consumption has only been strong for small-scale pigs, while farm pigs are still difficult to sell, because transporting pigs to the northern provinces is still difficult at this time. However, people should not increase their herds at this time, because African swine fever has not ended yet.

We should wait until June, when the African swine fever epidemic is stable, to consider increasing the herd, but not massively, but to balance the market, avoiding a situation where supply exceeds demand.

Mr. Nguyen Van Lap - Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Farm pigs are still difficult

Pigs raised by small-scale farmers are increasing in price and are easy to sell, but on the contrary, farm pigs in some places are currently facing oversized conditions because they have to be raised for a long time. Mr. Nguyen Duc Tam in Hamlet 6, Tan Huong Commune (Tan Ky) said: His family currently has 28 pigs, weighing 150 - 180 kg each, and really wants to sell them but no traders are asking.

Farm pigs are currently difficult to sell. Photo: Quang An

"A month ago, the pigs weighed 120 kg each and were ready to be sold when African swine fever broke out in the province, so they couldn't be sold and had to be kept until today. Now the pigs are too big and I really want to sell them but there are no buyers," said Mr. Nguyen Duc Tam.

Currently, there are about 48,000 pigs in the district, including 10 farms and nearly 50 pig farms. Due to the African swine fever epidemic in Tan Ky district, pork is still difficult to sell.

Mr. Le Duc Tinh - Head of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Station of Tan Ky district

According to Mr. Hoang Quoc Hai - owner of a pig farm in Hamlet 3 Lam Truong, Tien Phong Commune (Que Phong): Currently, the farm has nearly 600 pigs weighing over 100 kg/pig, ready for sale but selling very slowly. The reason is that few traders want to buy the whole herd, so they have to sell retail to slaughterhouse owners in the district, reducing the burden of daily feed costs. Currently, the price of live pigs has increased to 42,000 VND/kg, more than 5 prices compared to 7 days ago.