Prime Minister requests strict handling of spreading false rumors about pork for profit

Referring to the issue of African swine fever prevention at the online conference to deploy the 2020 plan of the agriculture and rural development sector on the afternoon of December 23, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highly appreciated the proactiveness, consultation, drastic and synchronous organization and implementation from the central to local levels in the work of preventing and fighting this disease, which has achieved clearly positive results.

According to the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has resolutely provided guidance and implemented in practice, proactively encouraging increased production of poultry, large livestock, and aquaculture to partially compensate for the reduction in pork volume.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Photo: Dan Viet

Thanks to that, although the loss was about 342,000 tons of pork, other livestock products increased sharply. For example, poultry meat reached 1.3 million tons, up 15% (up 145 thousand tons), poultry eggs increased 12% (up 1.4 billion eggs), large livestock increased 4.2%... Up to now, the epidemic has been basically controlled; we still keep about 25 million pigs, enough supply to meet demand, "there is no shortage of pork".

"Recently, there has been information that the price of live pigs has increased very quickly. I have to say again, the increase in price does not mean that we do not have pigs. The epidemic has caused the pig herd to decrease, but we must affirm that we do not have much shortage, it is necessary to import a few thousand tons more meat to stabilize. Currently, the price of live pigs has stabilized. I would like to take this opportunity to request that anyone who spreads false rumors about a shortage of meat and increased prices; anyone who hoards goods and increases prices will be severely punished" - the Prime Minister resolutely.

Previously, speaking to the press during a field trip to Bac Giang on December 22, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong also requested that there be no hoarding of goods. This is harmful to those who hoard goods because if people raise their crops past their prime, the economic conversion coefficient will be lower. Especially, with the current weather, high humidity, drizzle and north wind in the last days of the year and the beginning of the new year, the risk of disease, if not this disease then another is clearly a risk.

Not to mention, if everyone hoards goods, at some point the price of pork will "collapse" and there will be losses. Therefore, in addition to the issue of disease safety, the issue of increasing production must be given close attention to the issue of trade to ensure compliance with market rules.

Regarding nuclear livestock enterprises, the Minister also warned against setting prices too high, lest they "hit themselves in the back with their own petard". Because, if the price is too high, consumers will choose other foods. At the same time, when the price is too high, goods from other places will flood in, at which point we will lose the market right at home.