Pig prices remained stable after falling the day before. However, pork prices at markets remain high.
Meat prices at many retail markets remain high, businesses demand an increase in stable meat prices citing losses - Photo: N.TRI
Meanwhile, businesses participating in the market stabilization program confirmed that the purchase price of live pigs has not decreased, so they are still waiting for an increase in retail prices.
According to many businesses, pork prices are not only affected by domestic supply and demand but also by imported sources, including live pigs. Therefore, it is difficult to predict the price movements of this commodity in the coming time.
Pig price drops, pork price remains high
Information from many farmers in the South said that the selling price of live pigs on the afternoon of March 17 was at 77,000 - 80,000 VND/kg, down from the peak of 83,000 - 84,000 VND/kg a few days ago.
Speaking to Tuoi Tre , Mr. Nguyen Kim Doan, vice president of Dong Nai Livestock Association, said there was a situation of live pigs being congested at some locations because supply was high but demand was slow.
"Many farmers bought pigs in advance to fatten or waited for high prices to make a profit, but when the selling price showed signs of decreasing, they chose to increase the selling volume, leading to a time when there was a backlog of live pigs, and the selling price could decrease further," said Mr. Doan.
However, according to many businesses, the price of live pigs is not only affected by domestic supply and demand but also by the supply of frozen pigs and imported live pigs. Therefore, the price movement of pigs in the coming time is not easy to predict.
The price of live pigs has slightly decreased, but according to records, the price of pork sold at wholesale and retail markets in Ho Chi Minh City is still as high as a few days ago.
Specifically, many traders at Ba Chieu market (Binh Thanh district), Tan Dinh (district 1)... sell baby back ribs for 200,000 - 215,000 VND/kg, pork belly from 163,000 - 170,000 VND/kg, thigh and shoulder meat for 125,000 - 135,000 VND/kg...
At Hoc Mon wholesale market, the price of pork (slaughtered, headless) sold on March 17 was 93,000 - 98,000 VND/kg; pork cuts such as spare ribs were 160,000 VND/kg, lean pork was 125,000 VND/kg, ham was 80,000 - 90,000 VND/kg depending on the type...
The price of live pigs has only decreased slightly, so it has not had much impact on the price of meat sold wholesale at wholesale markets and retail at traditional markets. We buy at prices that have not decreased, so the retail price at the market remains high," explained Ms. Nguyen Thi Hung, a trader.
Mr. Nguyen Van Han, a trader in Dong Nai, said that supply has increased slightly because some businesses and farmers are increasing their sales volume for fear of falling prices, not to mention the possibility of live pigs being imported from Cambodia.
Stabilization businesses demand an increase in meat prices
Speaking to Tuoi Tre on the afternoon of March 17, Mr. Phan Van Dung, deputy general director of Vissan Company, said that the proposal to increase the retail price of pork by 6-7% in the price stabilization program was sent to the Department of Finance and the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City on March 10, but the management agency has not yet allowed the price increase.
"In early March, the state management agency increased the retail price to stabilize and the price of live pigs at that time was recorded by the Department of Finance at only 74,000 VND/kg, but in reality, the unit bought it for 76,000 VND/kg and for more than a week, it has been buying at 79,000 VND/kg, without any decrease. Therefore, the continued proposal to increase the selling price is reasonable, because the unit is suffering heavy losses," Mr. Dung affirmed.
Previously, the Department of Finance had adjusted the selling price of many stabilized pork products from March 3, increasing by 4 - 8.8% depending on the product, applied to 5 businesses. According to a representative of a unit participating in market stabilization in Ho Chi Minh City, the increase in retail pork prices was due to the sharp increase in live hog prices and the increase was only to cut losses, because the businesses themselves were also passive.
"Purchasing power is down 20-30% compared to normal, increasing selling prices can further reduce purchasing power. If the price of live pigs is good, the unit recommends reducing the selling price immediately or running promotions," he said.
Meanwhile, a representative of CP Vietnam Livestock Company said that the number of pigs sold by the unit remains stable at about 16,000 - 17,000 pigs/day, but meat output is likely to decrease because the number of small pigs, about 80 - 90kg/pig, is higher than usual (standard pigs weigh about 100 - 110kg/pig - PV).
"We try to sell in the hope of maintaining supply, thereby helping to stabilize pork prices. However, with a low market share, it is difficult for a single unit to decide the general market price," he said.
Pig breeding prices increase sharply, farmers are afraid to restore their herds
The price of live pigs in the West increased by nearly 1.5 million VND/quintal compared to the same period last year, leading to a rise in the price of piglets. Pig farmers are still worried about disease, so they are cautious about restocking.
On March 17, Tuoi Tre reported that the price of live pigs in the Western provinces was high, around 7 - 7.8 million VND/quintal. However, the rate of pig farmers re-herding is very low, due to the skyrocketing price of piglets and concerns about the disease situation.
Ms. Dang Thi My, a pig farmer in Kien Giang, said that she had just sold a herd of about 10 pigs, which were purchased by traders at a price of 7 million VND/quintal. With this price, Ms. My earned a profit of more than 3 million VND per pig.
"The price of live pigs is still increasing, some people near my house are selling pigs at 7.8 million VND/quintal. However, everyone is afraid to restock because the price of piglets has increased sharply to 2 million VND/pig. I will wait for the price of piglets to decrease to about 1 - 1.5 million VND before restocking," said Ms. My.
According to Ms. My, the price of piglets has doubled compared to before, from 800,000 VND to 2 million VND/pig. With this price, many pig farmers are cautious about increasing or restocking their herds, because they are worried about unstable output and the high price of live pigs will not last long. In addition, the erratic occurrence of disease still poses a risk, and the price of piglets is too high and scarce, so people do not dare to restock.
Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Chien, a pig farmer in Kien Giang, also said that she did not dare to rebuild her herd because she was worried that the price of live pigs would quickly decrease, while the price of piglets was quite high. "My family still has about 6 pigs that are ready to be sold. After selling them, I will wait for the price to stabilize before considering whether to rebuild the herd or not," Ms. Chien said.
Speaking to Tuoi Tre , Ms. Nguyen Thi Xoàn, deputy head of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Veterinary and Aquatic Products of An Giang province, said that the whole province of An Giang has over 100,000 pigs, a slight decrease compared to the same period last year, concentrated in small-scale pig farms. Some large pig farms are still temporarily closed.
According to Ms. Xoàn, compared to the same period last year, the pig herd this year has decreased slightly, due to the African swine fever outbreak in 2024, so people are still hesitant to restock. For breeding pigs, An Giang has a pig breeding farm of Afiex Company, the rest are mainly people exchanging and buying and selling piglets with each other.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/doanh-nghiep-muon-tang-gia-thit-heo-binh-on-20250318074221053.htm
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