Cheapest pork in 10 years: 1 kg of meat is not equal to 1 kg of potatoes

As the Lunar New Year approaches, pig farmers across the country are struggling as pork prices have plummeted to a 10-year low. Live pigs are now priced at only VND24,000-27,000 per kilogram, while a kilogram of vegetables or potatoes has gone up to VND26,000-30,000.

10 year bottom

As Tet approaches, Ms. Dam Thu Trang in Viet Tri city (Phu Tho) still hasn't bothered to buy anything for her family to celebrate Tet because her pigs have been past their selling date for half a month now and no one has bought them.

Ms. Trang confided that her herd of 40 pigs was ready to be sold, and all her capital was invested in this with the hope of selling them right during Tet so that the price would be high and her family would have a full Tet. However, she did not expect that the price of pigs would drop sharply as Tet approached.

Half a month ago, traders offered 32,000 VND/kg of live pigs for sale. She felt sorry so she kept it and tried to wait for a slightly higher price to recoup her capital because selling at this price would mean a big loss for her and her husband. Now, after half a month, the price of live pigs has not only not increased but has also decreased to 27,000 VND/kg.

Pork prices are falling sharply, causing heavy losses for farmers.

"My husband and I have a herd of 40 pigs, including 28 small pigs weighing about 90kg. If we just nod, traders will come and buy them for 27,000 VND/kg of live pigs. For the remaining 12 pigs weighing 120kg each, I have been inviting traders for a whole week but they still refuse to buy them. Those who come only offer 24,000 VND/kg," she said sadly.

According to Ms. Trang, if they sell pigs at the current price of 27,000 VND/kg, she and her husband will lose about 10,000 VND/kg. However, if they do not sell and keep the pigs, they will lose even more.

In the same situation, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Minh in Nam Giang town (Nam Truc, Nam Dinh) also had to grit her teeth and sell her herd of more than 30 pigs at a price of only 26,000 VND/kg, causing her family to suffer heavy losses.

She said that for over a week now, pork prices have dropped dramatically. At the end of December, pork prices were at 32,000-35,000 VND/kg, but now they are only 26,000 VND/kg.

"I have been raising pigs for 10 years now and have never seen the price of pigs drop to this level. In previous years, the cheapest price of pigs was 31,000 VND/kg, otherwise it was 36,000-37,000 VND/kg, during peak periods the price was up to 40,000-47,000 VND/kg," said Ms. Minh, adding that with pork only selling for 26,000 VND/kg, it was only equal to the price of vegetables in the market.

"Today I went to the market, bought 1kg of green beans for 25,000 VND/kg, bought 1kg of cabbage for 23,000 VND/kg, 1kg of potatoes for 30,000 VND/kg", Mrs. Minh said sadly.

Records in some provinces and cities show that pork prices are falling through the bottom, to the lowest level in the past 10 years. For example, in Vinh Phuc, the price of pork sold at the farm is commonly at 27,000-32,000 VND/kg; in Quang Tri, the price of pork is also at 30,000 VND/kg. Meanwhile, in the southern provinces, the Dong Nai Livestock Association said that at times, the price of pork sold was 27,000 VND/kg, even being forced down to only 25,000 VND/kg. The price of pigs over 150kg was even lower.

Private traders squeeze prices?

Mr. Doan Xuan Truc, General Secretary of the Vietnam Animal Husbandry Association, said that the reason is that supply exceeds demand because farmers are massively increasing their herds to prepare pigs for the Lunar New Year market.

In addition, the Chinese market used to import a lot of Vietnamese pork, especially around Tet, but now China has stopped importing Vietnamese pork through unofficial channels, causing output to be blocked and prices to drop sharply.

In contrast to the sharp decrease in pork prices at the farm, at the market, meat prices remain stable and are showing signs of increasing due to the upcoming Tet holiday.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Duong, Deputy Director of the Department of Livestock Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has sent a dispatch to the provinces, requesting them to increase market information for farmers, create favorable conditions for pig transport vehicles to circulate conveniently, and not "block rivers and prohibit markets". Calling on businesses producing animal feed, veterinary medicine, etc. to reduce costs and share with farmers. The provinces request farmers not to increase their herds and maintain a moderate scale.

Referring to the issue of falling pork prices, Mr. Duong said that the strange thing is that the price of live pigs for slaughter is falling sharply, but the price of pork sold at the market has not decreased at all.

In fact, according to a survey conducted by PV at some markets in Hanoi such as Dai Tu, Nghia Tan, Kim Giang markets, pork prices have remained relatively stable in recent days. For example, lean meat loin costs 100,000 VND/kg, ribs cost 110,000 VND/kg, and pork leg, belly, rump, and shoulder all cost 85,000-90,000 VND/kg.

Notably, most of the traders at the markets today said that in just about a week, the price of pork in the market will be adjusted to increase from 5,000-20,000 VND/kg depending on the type because the demand of families to buy pork for processing and storing during Tet is increasing.

Explaining the above paradox, Mr. Duong and some experts in the industry said that the sharp decrease in pork prices on the market was due to traders forcing down prices.

"Traders take advantage of the surplus pork supply and the weakness of pigs that cannot be exported to China, especially large pigs, to force down prices, forcing people to accept losses and sell at low prices. Accordingly, traders can easily grab the difference to fill their pockets," a leading expert in the livestock industry shared.

According to Vietnamnet