Nghe An: Chicken farmers suffer heavy losses due to sharp price drop and unsold chickens

Affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, industrially raised chickens in Nghe An have dropped sharply to 40,000 VND/kg but still cannot be sold. Photo: Xuan Hoang

The Covid-19 epidemic is evolving complicatedly, many provinces and cities are applying social distancing measures according to theGovernment Directive 16, including Nghe An. Therefore, the circulation and consumption of broiler chickens is at a standstill, especially in localities with a large number of large-scale chicken farms. Chicken prices fall, are difficult to sell, and farmers suffer heavy losses due to having to invest in daily feed, while the chickens are no longer old enough.

Mr. Nguyen Ngu in Hamlet 3, Dien Trung Commune (Dien Chau) is worried, currently in the coop there are about 7 thousand chickens that have been ready to be sold for nearly 15 days now, but cannot be sold. "Normally, each batch of chickens is cared for for nearly 65 days before being sold, but this batch of chickens has been 90 days and still cannot be sold. If the chickens cannot be sold, we also have to invest in adequate feed, calculating that a chicken weighing 2 kg or more like this, eats 2,000 VND of feed/day. So every day the family has to invest about 14 million VND in chicken feed, but does not get anything back, because the growth period has passed. Not to mention the selling pricebroiler"Currently, it is only 40,000 VND/kg, not enough investment capital," Mr. Nguyen Ngu shared.

Broiler farmers in Dien Trung commune are suffering losses because their chickens cannot be sold. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Huu Sy's family in Hamlet 4, Dien Trung Commune is also sitting on fire, about 5,000 chickens are only 3 days away from being sold, if they cannot be sold, they will suffer heavy losses. "The family is having to accept losing tens of millions of dong every day to buy chicken feed. If we do not take good care of them, it will affect the weight and quality of the whole flock," said Mr. Sy.

Currently, the price of broiler chicken has dropped sharply, from 55,000 VND/kg to 40,000 VND/kg, but what is more worrying is that the chickens are ready to be sold but cannot be sold. A batch of broiler chickens, farmers usually invest in taking care of them for 65 days before selling them, each chicken weighs around 2 kg. If chickens are sold at 40,000 VND/kg as it is now, they will lose about 10,000 VND/chicken, and every day that goes on, the farmer will lose that day.

Mr. Dau Ngoc Hoa - Director of Livestock CooperativeVietGAP chickenDien Trung

Mr. Hoa said that as of September 3, the entire cooperative still had 70,000 broiler chickens that were ready to be sold but had not been sold. It is calculated that each day, chicken farm owners in the commune lose hundreds of millions of dong.

Learn aboutmarketBroiler chickens in other localities in the province show that currently, traders have temporarily stopped buying and selling chickens, and chicken slaughterhouses are also temporarily closed, due to social distancing according to Directive 16 of the Government to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic, so there is a deadlock in the consumption of broiler chickens./.