Why is frozen pork difficult to consume?

The director of a supermarket in Vinh city said: "Currently, the supermarket has a source of imported pork from the General Company in Ho Chi Minh City. Compared to fresh pork, imported meat is 20,000-30,000 VND/kg lower (depending on the type)...".

Although cheaper and more abundant, according to a survey, imported meat sales are quite slow, consumers mainly choose fresh meat, not frozen meat.

The pork market has had unexpected developments at the end of the year. Photo: Thanh Phuc

According to research, frozen pork is almost non-existent in some grocery stores in Vinh City. An employee of a grocery store on Nguyen Van Cu Street (Vinh City) said: “It is very difficult to sell frozen meat. Consumers prefer to buy fresh meat. Therefore, the store’s solution is to import pigs from centralized slaughterhouses, cut up fresh meat and sell it immediately to customers...”.

The reason why consumers are not "keen" on frozen meats in general, including pork, is due to habit and partly due to concerns about the origin and food safety of these meats.

Ms. Tran Hoang Trang, a housewife in Vinh Tan ward, shared: “When pork is expensive, we switch to other foods, or reduce the amount of meat in our meals, instead of eating frozen meat, which loses its freshness and deliciousness. Although my family has frozen pork to eat during the week or month, it is meat that our family uses together, with a clear origin.”

Out of habit, consumers still choose "hot" pork that is slaughtered and sold on the same day. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Since mid-2019, when African swine fever broke out and became more complicated, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has coordinated with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to discuss and propose solutions to store frozen pigs to meet demand when there is a shortage, especially during the Lunar New Year.

In Nghe An, the Ministry of Industry and Trade had previously planned to freeze pork, but due to consumers' dislike of frozen meat, the plan was suspended. Meanwhile, according to calculations by the authorities, although meat production has decreased, it is not as scarce as people worry.

Frozen foods are a solution to meet market demand in the context of escalating prices of fresh products following pork, contributing to preventing the situation of smuggled pork without going through quarantine steps. In fact, frozen foods with clear origins are guaranteed in quality and nutritional value.