Pork price developments in the first quarter of 2025 increased early and rapidly

Pigs from the North moved to the South

On the morning of April 3, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment held a conference on disease prevention and pig farming development in the new situation. Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien chaired the conference.

Reporting at the Conference, Mr. Pham Kim Dang, Deputy Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) said that currently the international context has many fluctuations such as the Russia - Ukraine conflict and most recently the US tariffs.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien chaired the conference on disease prevention and pig farming development in the new situation held on the morning of April 3 in Hanoi. Photo: Khuong Trung .

Overcoming many difficulties, in 2024, ASEAN countries recorded an average GDP growth of 4.7%, in which Vietnam led with 7.09%.

However, by 2025, total global pork production is forecast to decrease slightly to 115.1 million tons, down 0.8% compared to 2024. Of which, China, the world's largest pork producer, is expected to decrease by 2.2% to 55.5 million tons; the European Union will decrease by 1.6% to 20.9 million tons; while the United States is expected to increase slightly by 2% to 12.9 million tons.

“The development strategy of countries is shifting to a state of increasing herds, expanding scale associated with applying science and technology, optimizing productivity, reducing costs and improving management efficiency,” Mr. Dang emphasized.

Vietnam's livestock industry in general and pig farming in particular are facing great opportunities and challenges in the context of many fluctuations in the global market.

According to the report of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), in 2024, Vietnam's total meat output will reach 8.1 million tons, up 3.5% over the same period last year, of which pork output will reach about 5.18 million tons, accounting for about 62% of total meat output. Vietnam ranks 4th in the top 10 largest pork consuming countries in the world.

One notable point is that after the African swine fever epidemic, our country's pig farming industry has changed completely, raising awareness of biosafety compared to before. Large enterprises and corporations have invested heavily in this issue.

Regarding animal feed production, Mr. Dang said that Vietnam's animal feed production technology is among the top in the world. The animal feed industry has taken a step forward in exporting to the world.

Regarding the price of pork, Mr. Dang said that, like previous years, after Tet, pork prices often stagnated, but in the first quarter of 2025, there was a difference, prices increased early and rapidly, there was a shortage in the South and some localities, especially the situation of "pigs from the North moving to the South".

Identify opportunities and challenges

Mr. Dang analyzed that the pig farming industry has many advantages such as: Complete, unified, integrated, transparent institutions; potential consumer market; more favorable conditions thanks to reduced feed prices, relatively stable prices are beneficial; integration attracts investment; opportunities to access new technology and management...

However, there are also many difficulties and challenges such as: Small-scale distribution, consumption and slaughter habits, leading to difficulty in controlling biosafety and disease safety; dependence on input materials (feed, breeds); slaughter, processing, food safety; climate characteristics; too few chain links; weak supply-demand statistics and forecasts.

The conference attracted the participation of representatives from many localities, industry associations and livestock and veterinary businesses. Photo: Khuong Trung .

In addition, there are new difficulties, such as changing the organization of the veterinary system at the grassroots level; relocating farms in areas where livestock farming is not allowed; market fluctuations, trade competition; climate change; disease developments, etc.

“US tariffs will be a challenge if we do not have timely solutions,” Mr. Dang emphasized.

The livestock development strategy for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045, sets a target of a total regular pig herd of 30 million (by 2030); a sow herd of about 2.5 million; a herd of foreign pigs raised on farms and in the form of industry accounting for about 70%; meat of all kinds by 2025 from 5-5.5 million tons (pork accounts for about 63-65%); by 2030 from 6-6.5 million tons (pork accounts for about 59-61%); exporting 15-20% of pork output.

Regarding pork price developments, like previous years, pork prices often stagnate after Tet, but in the first quarter of 2025, there is a difference, prices increase early and increase rapidly. Photo: Hong Tham .

Accordingly, Mr. Dang also shared immediate solutions including strengthening disease prevention; thoroughly applying biosafety measures; border control: preventing smuggling and epidemics; expanding markets, promoting exports of advantageous products; connecting and sharing market information, being more transparent about prices, ensuring harmonious interests among actors...

Regarding long-term solutions, it is necessary to transform the industry in the direction of re-planning, focusing investment resources on key areas (breed development, feed, environmental technology; investment in science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and accurate livestock declaration.

In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the construction of linkage chains (livestock - slaughter/processing/deep processing - distribution; deploy biosafety facility chains and control diseases at regional and national levels according to the guidance of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). Propose support for Vietnamese farmers and businesses to access loans for livestock farming; inspect, review, and evaluate the current status of the pork distribution channel system...

"Respond to all changes with the constant"

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien said that in 2024, the agricultural sector has achieved a spectacular finish; the first 3 months of 2025 have had many important milestones. The target of the entire sector in 2025 is to strive for 4% growth, export turnover reaching 64-65 billion USD, striving for 70 billion USD. However, there are still many difficulties and challenges that need to be "adapted to the changing" to overcome, calculating solutions to ensure growth momentum.

In recent times, sectors such as animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, cultivation, aquaculture, forestry, etc. have all made important contributions. In the livestock industry in particular, pork prices have increased sharply in recent times. In the coming time, it is necessary to clearly understand the situation in order to be able to regulate based on the role of the state; the work must be continuous, and no areas or tasks must be left unattended. There must be many initiatives and comprehensive solutions to strictly control major issues of the industry such as breeding, feed, environment, disease safety, biosafety, slaughter, etc. so that the industry can achieve its set goals.

Source: https://nongnghiep.vn/dien-bien-gia-thit-lon-quy-i-2025-tang-som-va-tang-nhanh-d746255.html