​Buffalo and beef prices drop sharply, people in the highlands of Nghe An face difficulties

The price of beef cattle has been falling for many months now, causing fattening farmers in the highlands of Nghe An to lose profits. Photo: Quang An

The remote districts of Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Que Phong… have always relied on raising buffalo and cows as their main source of income. However, the sharp drop in buffalo and cow prices over the past several months has affected the lives of the people.

Mr. Hua Ba Ma in Son Ha village, Ta Ca commune (Ky Son) said that, like other Mong families in the village, his family built a system of wooden cattle barns, 3 compartments, each compartment holds a fattened bull. Like previous years, when beef prices were stable, each year they sold 4-5 fattened cows, earning hundreds of millions of dong in profit. However, for many months now,beef pricedeeply reduced, difficult to sell, a cow weighing about 300kg, previously cost 35 million VND, but now only about 16 - 18 million VND. Therefore, the family has to extend the raising time, wait for the market price to increase before selling.

Mong cows have large weight, a lot of meat, good meat quality and are favored by the market. Photo: Xuan Hoang

“In the village, about 60% of households raise fattened cows, each household has 1-3 cows. For many months now, people have had no income because beef prices have dropped sharply and they cannot be sold,” Mr. Hua Ba Ma shared.

Nam Can Commune (Ky Son) has over 70% of the population being Mong ethnic people, so raising fattening cattle here has always been a strong point. Local people said that occasionally people come to buy cows, but the price is low so they do not want to sell, only families in dire need of money accept to sell.

Mr. Lau Ba Chay - Chairman of Nam Can Commune People's Committee said: Mong people have a lot of experience in raising fattening cattle, so almost every Mong family in the commune has a barn to raise cattle.fattening cattlebring the main source of income for people here. However, due to the long-standing difficulties in the export market to China, the price of cows has dropped sharply, making it difficult to sell, making it impossible for people to sell, meaning they lose their source of income. However, the local government still propagates and encourages people to maintain fattening cattle, waiting for the opportunity for the market price to increase to sell. In the past, many families became well-off thanks to raising buffaloes and cows in captivity.

Buffalo meat prices have also dropped sharply in recent months. Photo: Quang An

According to Mr. Nguyen Sy Son - Deputy Head of the District Department of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentKy Sonsaid, previously, beef cattle cost 80,000 - 90,000 VND/kg, but now it has dropped to only 60,000 VND/kg, so a beef cattle weighing about 400 kg, which used to cost 36 million VND, now costs only 24 million VND. The sharp drop in beef cattle prices in recent months has affected the lives of people in mountainous areas who rely on livestock as their main source of income. Because raising cattle is an advantage of the locality, the district has directed localities to propagate and mobilize people to maintain raising cattle, waiting for the market to stabilize again. Currently, Ky Son has nearly 40,000 cattle, most in the communes: Na Ngoi, Muong Long, Huoi Tu, Nam Can, Tay Son...

According to the locals, the bulls are raised around 2-3 years old, separated from the herd, or people buy skinny bulls to keep separately, and cut elephant grass every day to feed them. The cow pens are made of wood, simple but sturdy, and private, so the cows grow quickly. The cows are kept for about 3-4 months before being sold. Each cow when sold weighs 3-400 kg. The Mong people's cows, when raised, are fat, have a lot of meat, and have high quality meat, so traders come to the place to buy them.

For the Mong people in Nghe An, almost every family has a system of barns to raise fattened cows. Photo: Xuan Hoang

The decrease in beef prices is a common situation in the market throughout the province, but with the characteristics of ethnic minorities in the highlands who rely on cattle raising as their main source of income, it has really affected their lives, especially at the time of preparing to enter the new school year, when every family needs money to buy books, clothes, etc. for their children to go to school./.