Nghe An: Pig price hits record high, many pork traders close the market

The skyrocketing price of pork has caused a decrease in consumption of this commodity, causing pork shops to fall into a slump. Photo: Thanh Phuc

If last year, this was the peak season for making ham, sausage, Chinese sausage, floss, pork... to serve Tet at Mrs. Nguyen Thi Nhi's slaughterhouse in Vinh market with 30-40 pigs per day, now the slaughterhouse has been closed for 10 days. The reason is that the price of live pigs has skyrocketed, in just 1 week it has increased by 25,000 - 30,000 VND/kg, making it impossible for the slaughterhouse to maintain operations.

“Business must be profitable. But now, each pig has increased in price by about 500,000 VND compared to before, while the price of meat has only increased slightly, so we have to compensate for a loss of 300,000 - 400,000 VND/pig, so we have to close the shop to avoid covering the cost. We don’t know when we will reopen because the price of pigs is increasing every day like this, we can’t hold on,” said Ms. Nhi.

Not only the slaughterhouse stopped operating, many retailers in the markets also had to stop selling, find other items to sell, and wait for the price of pork to "cool down" before daring to sell again.

Ms. Trinh Thi Mai, a trader at Doi Cung market (Vinh city) said: "There is no shortage of pork supply but the price has increased too high. Currently, the price of live pigs has reached 95,000 - 98,000 VND/kg, and that of hogs has reached 115,000 - 125,000 VND/kg while the retail price ranges from 150,000 - 180,000 VND/kg, so the profit is very small, sometimes I have to accept losses. To make up for this period, I make more fish cakes, sell more chicken, duck, and beef, and only take a small amount of pork to keep regular customers," Ms. Mai said.

There are no specific statistics, but in some traditional markets, the number of traders selling pork has decreased by about 1/3 compared to before. Photo: Thanh Phuc

There are no specific statistics, but in some traditional markets in Vinh city such as Quan Lau market, Hung Chinh market, Doi Cung market, Hung Dung market, etc., the number of traders selling pork has decreased by about 1/3 compared to before.

Some households stopped trading altogether, some switched to selling other foods, some households that used to sell 2-3 pigs per market session now only sell about 20-30kg of meat retail to maintain close customer relationships such as schools, restaurants, hotels, etc.

Supermarkets and organic food stores are in a similar situation. The price of live pigs has increased so much that the price of meat has been adjusted 5 times in a week, forcing stores to increase their prices accordingly. To retain customers, many stores and supermarkets sell meat in combos such as: pork belly + lean shoulder + ribs with spinach or tofu, etc.; many stores accept to sell at the input price just to maintain their customers.

Mr. Ho Van The, who runs a chain of clean food stores in the city, said: “For nearly a month now, the selling price of meat at our stores has been the same as the import price. The amount of meat consumed has also decreased as the price of meat is too high, so consumers have switched to choosing other foods.”

The situation is similar in rural and mountainous markets. Currently, the price of live pigs in these localities has reached 90,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Vo Van Quy - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Thanh Thuy Commune (Thanh Chuong) said: "Currently, there are about 3,500 pigs and 350 sows in the area, of which there is 1 farm with 400 pigs of different litters. The high price of pigs makes it easy for people to sell and make a profit. Currently, most of the pigs for Tet have orders, but the farmers have not yet finalized the price. Because at this rate, the price of live pigs will certainly reach 100,000 VND/kg. The price of the current pig breeding source is also increasing as people's demand for herd restoration increases."

Many people switched to selling other foods, while a few held on to keep their regular customers. Photo: Thanh Phuc

As a rule, at the end of the year, the demand for pork to prepare dishes for Tet increases. However, in reality, due to high prices, consumers choose other foods to replace pork such as beef, chicken, etc., so the consumption of this item is slow and has decreased by 20% compared to before.

Currently, many establishments producing dried pork, sausages, ham, sausages, etc. have not dared to finalize orders for Tet because according to forecasts, pork prices will continue to increase./.