Nghe An: Live pig prices plummet, pork prices remain high.

Since the end of February this year,live pig pricePrices for live pigs ready for slaughter have been trending downwards. At the beginning of March, pork prices were at 53,000-56,000 VND/kg, by mid-March they had fallen to 50,000-53,000 VND/kg, and currently, the price of live pigs ready for slaughter is only at 45,000-48,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Cao Thanh Hoan, from Quynh Tam commune (Quynh Luu district), owns a pig farm with a total herd of over 120 pigs. After restocking following Tet, he is actively caring for his pigs, hoping that the price of live pigs will increase, allowing him to recover his capital after a long period of losses.

With current pork prices, farms are suffering heavy losses. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Hoan said that out of more than 100 commercial pigs he is raising, about 40 are ready for slaughter, weighing 100 kg each; the remaining pigs will be sold in about 30-40 days. At this time, the price of live pigs is only 47,000 VND/kg, so the upcoming batch of pigs to be sold will not be profitable, and may even result in a loss.

"According to my calculations, raising one pig from scratch to market weight, which takes about 4 months and reaches 100 kg, incurs an initial investment cost of 5 million VND per pig. At this time, with the price of live pigs below 50,000 VND/kg, farmers are completely left empty-handed, not to mention the labor costs for 4 months," Mr. Hoan shared.

Mr. Tran Van Nham has reduced the scale of his pig farming operation, maintaining only 30 breeding sows to ensure a steady supply of piglets. Photo: Thanh Phuc

This time, Mr. Tran Van Nham (Yen Xuan hamlet, Thanh Ngoc commune, Thanh Chuong district) is also preparing to sell nearly 50 pigs.Food prices are skyrocketing.With some costs increasing by 50%, input costs for livestock farming, especially pigs, have risen sharply, while the price of pigs at slaughter has dropped significantly. Therefore, he reduced his herd from 200-300 fattening pigs to 100, maintaining 30 breeding sows to ensure a steady supply of piglets for the farm.

“These 50 pigs have already resulted in a loss of about 30 million VND. That's because I had control over the breeding stock; otherwise, the losses would have been much greater. I've already invested in the barns and leased the land, so I can't leave it empty. I've switched to raising broiler chickens, but the current chicken prices are also very volatile,” Mr. Nham said.

Over the past year, live pig prices have fallen from 73,000-77,000 VND/kg (at the same time last year) to 45,000-50,000 VND/kg (depending on the locality) currently. Accordingly, live pig prices have decreased by approximately 23,000-28,000 VND/kg.
The paradox: live pig prices have dropped sharply, but...meat pricesAt local markets, supermarkets, and retail stores, prices remain high. Specifically, when live pig prices were at 73,000-77,000 VND/kg, retail pork prices at traditional markets were around 110,000-150,000 VND/kg... But when pig prices reversed and plummeted to only 45,000-50,000 VND/kg, prices at markets and supermarkets only decreased slightly or remained largely unchanged.

Despite the sharp drop in live pig prices, pork prices at local markets remain high. Photo: Thanh Phuc

According to surveys at supermarkets and traditional markets in Vinh City, pork prices are currently at 100,000-130,000 VND/kg (depending on the type). For example, at Hung Dung Market (Vinh City), pork shoulder costs 120,000-125,000 VND/kg, grade 1 pork ribs cost 160,000-170,000 VND/kg, and minced pork and pork belly cost 110,000 VND/kg... In some suburban markets, pork prices are cheaper, varying by 5,000-10,000 VND/kg (depending on the type).

At supermarkets and organic food stores, the price of all types of pork remains very high, ranging from 140,000 to 189,000 VND/kg (depending on the type). Meanwhile, in rural markets, pork prices remain high at 90,000 to 120,000 VND (depending on the type).

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha, a meat vendor at Hung Dung market, said: “Although live pig prices have decreased, the sharp increase in fuel prices has driven up transportation costs from farms to slaughterhouses and from slaughterhouses to markets, so meat prices cannot decrease significantly. In addition, intermediaries are the main reason why the price of meat reaching consumers is higher than the price at the farms.”

According to statistics, live pig prices have fallen by 40% compared to the same period last year, but pork prices have only decreased slightly and remain high. This is due to excessively high intermediary costs. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Explaining the situation where retail pork prices rise rapidly when live pig prices are high, but remain high and decrease slowly or only slightly when live pig prices fall sharply, representatives of the livestock industry say that the high intermediary costs have driven up the price of pork, amidst continuously rising fuel prices and fluctuating increases in the prices of other consumer goods.

Therefore, to balance the price of live pigs and pork, it is necessary to shorten the intermediate stages by forming...Supply chain linkages in livestock farming.Ms. Vu Thi Bich Hang, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Quynh Luu district, said: “The entire Quynh Luu district currently has more than 40,000 pigs raised in 4 large farms and households. In the coming time, the district is focusing on directing localities with strengths in livestock farming to build a chain-linked farm system to stabilize output and balance prices.”