Vietnam imports live pigs from Thailand for the first time to cool domestic prices
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has just allowed the import of live pigs to cool down the domestic pork and meat prices that are continuously reaching new peaks.
According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien, this is the first time the official import of live pigs (whole pigs) from other countries has been allowed to reduce the high domestic prices of live pigs and pork.
In the immediate future, the Ministry will consider importing pigs from Thailand. Mr. Tien affirmed that import procedures will be strictly controlled to avoid massive imports, which will negatively affect the domestic market. Importing enterprises must comply with current laws on quarantine, ensure disease safety for domestic livestock and carry out 30-day quarantine.
After Covid-19 is controlled, quarantine of live pigs imported from other countries into Vietnam will be carried out in accordance with current regulations and procedures.
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| Illustration from the Internet. |
The price of live pigs has reached a peak when it increased to over 80,000 VND/kg, causing the price of pork at wholesale markets to "push" up to 100,000 - 105,000 VND. On May 28, the price of pork at northern provinces such as Hanoi, Hung Yen, Thai Binh... was around 97,000 - 100,000 VND/kg. At this price, each kg of meat sold at retail markets and traditional markets fluctuates between 150,000 - 200,000 VND.
In addition to solutions to promote herd restoration, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also allows increased meat imports from Canada, the US, Russia, Germany, etc. Since the beginning of 2020, about 67,000 tons of meat and meat products have been imported to Vietnam, with an average import price of 60,000 VND/kg. The price of imported pork is half cheaper than domestic pork, but consumers are still not very interested due to the habit of eating raw meat.Allowing the import of live pigs for slaughter, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, is one of the next measures to help cool down domestic meat prices, meeting the Vietnamese people's preference for hot meat.
In addition to importing meat and meat products, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also allows businesses to import a large number of breeding pigs (110,000 heads), parent pigs, great-grandparent pigs, grandparents... about 15,000 heads to restock. These batches of pigs will be quarantined according to regulations.
