Pig breeding costs 2-3 times more, making it difficult for farmers in Nghe An to restore their herds.

According to a survey, the current price of piglets in the Nghe An market ranges from 150,000 VND - 200,000 VND/kg (depending on the type), the cheapest is white pig with a price of 2 - 2.5 million VND/pig (about 10 - 15kg), and other types of pigs such as black pig, spotted pig, Mong Cai, farm pig have prices ranging from 3 million to 3.5 million VND/pig, 2-3 times more expensive than before.

Not only expensive, but currently, breeding pigs on the market are also quite scarce. Large companies and large farms with sows mostly keep the breeding pigs to raise into commercial pigs, while small-scale farmers have most of their sows destroyed due to the epidemic, the remaining quantity is not much and when selling breeding pigs, they usually sell them in herds, not individually.

The current price of piglets is 2-3 times higher than before the pandemic, making it difficult for farmers to restore their herds. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Many traders specializing in buying and selling piglets in localities in the province said that in order to have piglets to sell to the market, they had to deposit with the breeding households from the time the sows gave birth a whole month before. In addition, the main piglets in the province are currently supplied by only a few companies, breeding centers and large farms, but the supply is also very limited.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien in Hung Nghia commune, Hung Nguyen said that the African swine fever outbreak in mid-2019 forced her family to destroy 3 sows that were about to give birth and sell off the piglets before the disease hit. Previously, her family's farm always maintained a level of 100 pigs/litter, but it has been nearly a year since the epidemic ended, but many of the barns in the farm are still empty.

Ms. Hien said: “Previously, 3 sows were enough to build a herd for each litter, self-sufficient breeding pigs both controlled the epidemic and saved investment costs. But now the sows have been culled, breeding pigs are two or three times more expensive than before the epidemic, so the family has only invested in raising 30 pigs (equal to 1/3 of the total herd compared to before). The remaining empty barns are planned to be converted to raise poultry instead.”

Although African swine fever has been controlled, many pig farmers in Hung Nghia and Hung Nguyen communes are eligible to re-herd but still leave their barns empty due to high piglet prices. Photo: TP

The same is true at Mr. Dang Anh Tuan's farm in Xuan Son commune, Do Luong. After the epidemic was controlled, although he had enough conditions to re-herd, he has only invested in raising half the number of pigs compared to the farm's scale. The reason is that piglets are currently expensive, while the farm's breeding sows are not enough to provide enough piglets to ensure the scale. Mr. Tuan is currently looking to buy male pigs, increasing the number of sows to provide enough breeding pigs for the farm.

Not only farms and ranches have difficulty in restocking due to the high cost of piglets, but small-scale breeders also have to leave their pens empty because they cannot buy piglets.

According to the report of the Nghe An Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, African swine fever in the province has been controlled. Currently, many livestock farms in the province are ready to restore production, but the price of piglets is at a high level, making farmers not dare to invest in herd restoration. Because for farms with hundreds of pigs or more, the cost of buying piglets has reached billions, while in the near future, if the livestock farming is favorable, the price of pigs will certainly decrease, so investing in herd restoration when the price of piglets is expensive can easily lead to losses.

At this time, with the price of piglets fluctuating from 150,000 VND - 200,000 VND/kg (depending on the type), farms with a scale of several hundred pigs have to invest in piglets alone for billions of VND. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Pig herd restoration is necessary, but localities need to implement the correct roadmap, recommendations, and instructions from the professional sector. The herd restoration should only be done step by step in places that ensure biosafety. In particular, households that do not meet the conditions should not rush to restore the herd because the risk of disease outbreaks is very high. On the other hand, when buying piglets at high prices, people rush to restore the herd, the price of live pigs will certainly be pushed down, and people will continue to suffer losses.

Mr. Ngo Duc Quynh - Deputy Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine of Nghe An province