Animal feed prices skyrocket, farmers face 'double' difficulties

In just a short period of time, the price of animal feed has increased 7 times. Each 25kg bag has increased by 30,000 - 45,000 VND, causing difficulties for animal breeders. Photo: Thanh Phuc

With a scale of 200 pigs, every day Mr. Pham Viet Duc's farm (Thanh Huong commune, Thanh Chuong) consumes about 700kg of animal feed, an average of about 20 - 25 tons per month.Animal feed pricesThe price has been increasing continuously since Tet, causing many difficulties for farmers like Mr. Duc.

“From January 2021 until now, the price of animal feed has increased 4 times, on average each 25kg bag of feed has increased by about 30,000 VND, the additional cost of feed fluctuates between 700,000 - 900,000 VND/day. The price of piglets is high, the price of animal feed has increased rapidly while the price of live pigs is on the decline, making it very difficult for farmers like us to cope,” said Mr. Duc.

Rising piglet prices, soaring feed prices, and disease risks have caused pig farms and ranches to not dare to multiply their herds. Photo: Thanh Phuc

However, at this time, livestock farming is still profitable or breaks even, less loss-making than poultry. Poultry and egg prices have hit rock bottom while feed prices have risen, causing livestock farmers to continuously suffer losses.

Quynh Luu has dozens oflivestock farmPoultry. At this time, local farmers are struggling because feed prices are high while poultry egg prices are falling sharply.

Mr. Pham Van Tra's family in Quynh Ba commune raises 400 laying ducks, on average each day the flock lays 350 eggs. With the current price of 1,600 VND/egg, the total income from raising ducks for eggs is about 560,000 VND. However, according to Mr. Tra, the cost of food spent per day is higher than the value of the income.

“Before November 2020, each bag of feed cost 320,000 VND, but now it costs 360,000 VND/bag (an increase of 40,000 VND/bag). A flock of 400 ducks eats about 65 kg of stork feed/day, equivalent to 570,000 VND, while the eggs sold during the day are only 520,000 VND, the family has to cover the loss,” said Mr. Tra.

Poultry farming at this time, the larger the scale and the larger the flock, the heavier the loss. Mr. Pham Dinh Thao, owner of a chicken farm in Nghi Duc (Vinh City), said: "With nearly 10,000 laying hens, each day they eat about 1.5 tons of feed, each month they consume nearly 50 tons. The price of feed is high, the price of eggs is cheap, so we have to compensate for hundreds of millions of dong each month."

At present, egg-laying chicken farmers are losing millions of dong every day. If animal feed prices continue to increase, farmers will be on the brink of bankruptcy. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Not only livestock and poultry feed prices have increased, but also aquaculture feed prices have increased sharply. The prices of many types of shrimp feed such as Hi-Gro, AnCo, Vina, Green Feed, Dabaco, Lai Thieu are currently priced from 220,000 - 450,000 VND/bag/25kg, an increase of 20,000 - 30,000 VND/bag.

According to market research, owners of animal feed dealers said that in the past 5 months, most businesses producing and trading animal feed, poultry and aquatic feed have announced price increases due to the increase in input material prices, especially imported raw materials. Therefore, retail stores have also had to adjust their selling prices. The price increase has also made many animal feed stores worry about a decrease in consumption of goods.

Shrimp and fish feed prices are also continuously increasing. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Le Thi Nga, owner of a level 1 agent of an animal feed company in Vinh Tan ward (Vinh city) said: "Compared to last year, the price of animal feed has increased sharply and continuously, lasting for a long time. The continuous increase in feed prices has caused difficulties for farmers, farms are raising livestock in moderation, many farm owners do not dare to re-raise or expand their scale, many poultry farms have even reduced their herds sharply, many people are considering stopping farming. Therefore, the amount of feed consumed in the market has also decreased significantly.

Previously, each month, our agency distributed about 100 tons of feed to the market both wholesale and retail. However, since the beginning of the year, the amount of feed sold has decreased to 50 - 60 tons.