Nghe An: Pig prices skyrocket, meat prices increase due to Covid-19

The jump in pork prices has caused meat prices to increase sharply. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Pig prices are increasing, peaking from March 7-9. According to slaughterhouse owners, pig prices have skyrocketed (increased 15 times) to VND85,000 - 90,000/kg. In localities, mainly small-scale farms, pig prices are at VND80,000 - 85,000/kg but supply is quite low, while in large-scale pig farms, pig prices have risen to VND90,000/kg.

Ms. Trinh Thi Mai, owner of a slaughterhouse in Vinh city, said: “The price of pigs increases every day, constantly fluctuating, causing difficulties for the slaughterhouse as well as pork traders. The high price of buying live pigs forces the selling price of piglets to stores and traders to be high, currently the price of piglets fluctuates between 135,000 - 140,000 VND/kg.”

The soaring price of pork has also caused the pork market to fluctuate. Surveys at traditional markets show that meat prices range from 150,000 to 180,000 VND/kg (depending on the type). Meanwhile, at clean food stores, meat prices range from 170,000 to 200,000 VND/kg (depending on the type).

According to the explanation, the reason for the high pork price is due to the domestic market fluctuating due to the Covid-19 epidemic, on the other hand, the African swine fever is currently re-emerging in localities, making it difficult to restore the herd. Photo: Document

The increase in pork prices has made it difficult for small traders to do business as consumers have switched to buying other foods instead. A meat trader in Sa Nam town market said: "The price of meat is high so I don't dare to buy much to sell. I only buy 5 kg each market day but it's still hard to sell it all."

According to farm owners, the increase in live pigs is due to price fluctuations in the domestic market, many people buy food to store and send to Hanoi when the Covid-19 epidemic is complicated. In Nghe An, many people are also afraid to go to the market, so they buy food to store for 2-3 days in a row. In addition, the supply is scarce due to many difficulties in herd restoration.

As of early March 2020, African swine fever continued to recur in 6 communes of 3 districts: Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, Que Phong. To date, the number of pigs culled due to African swine fever in the whole province is nearly 96,000. Currently, there are 829 households in 26 communes of 9 districts where the epidemic has not passed 30 days.

Ms. Tran My Ha - Head of Trade Management Department of the Department of Industry and Trade said: "The Department of Industry and Trade has issued Official Dispatch 277 to localities and commercial centers, enterprises producing, trading and distributing goods in the province to strengthen the work of ensuring the market and essential goods to serve people in preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic. In particular, directing relevant sectors and localities to monitor the market situation, price fluctuations, and supply sources to have plans to balance supply and demand, stabilize the market of essential goods, including pork.

The sudden increase in pork prices is a common situation in the whole country. The Government has requested relevant ministries and branches to regulate prices, ensure supply balance and control pork prices. At the same time, it has developed a plan to increase pork imports to compensate for the shortage of pork to stabilize prices. We have coordinated with supermarkets and food stores through the distribution system to bring imported pork to the Nghe An market.

Faced with the situation of rising pork prices again, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc requested the three Ministries: Agriculture and Rural Development, Finance, Industry and Trade and relevant agencies to strictly implement the instructions of the Head of the Price Management Steering Committee in Notice No. 35/TB-VPCP dated February 2, 2020 of the Government Office on ensuring supply-demand balance and controlling pork prices, reporting to the Prime Minister on the implementation situation in a specific manner, clearly stating the responsibility for this price increase.

The General Statistics Office shall preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies to assess the impact of pork prices on the consumer price index (CPI); closely coordinate with ministries and agencies to find solutions to ensure the target of controlling the consumer price index (CPI) in 2020 according to the targets assigned by the National Assembly and the Government.