Live cattle prices "fall" sharply, Ha Tinh cattle breeders suffer losses

Since the end of 2021, the price of live cattle has decreased by more than 30% compared to before, causing farmers in Ha Tinh to fall into a difficult situation and suffer prolonged losses.

The herd of cows of Mr. Pham Van Minh's family (Huong Long village, Tan Lam Huong commune, Thach Ha) now has only 12 cows, half the number before.

After nearly 6 years of raising cows, because the price has dropped so low, this year, Mr. Pham Van Minh's family (Huong Long village, Tan Lam Huong commune, Thach Ha) had to reduce half of their livestock.

Mr. Minh said: “After many years of raising and supplying beef cattle, I have never seen the price of beef as cheap as now. The price of live cattle in previous years was around 90 - 95,000 VND/kg, peaking at 110,000 VND/kg. However, from the end of 2021 until now, the price is only around 70,000 VND/kg. In 2022, I bought breeding cows at a high price, but sold them at a low price, so I had almost no profit. Before, my family raised 23 - 25 3B cows each year, but now there are only 12 because the more you raise, the easier it is to lose money.”

Mr. Pham Van Bien (Tan Hoa 1 village, Tan Lam Huong commune, Thach Ha) just sold 2 yellow cows on the afternoon of August 4 for 19.5 million VND, but he was not happy. According to Mr. Bien, if the price was before 2022, these 2 cows would have been sold for about 30 million VND.

The current price of live beef is 55 - 70,000 VND/kg, depending on the breed of beef.

Mr. Bien shared: “For more than a year now, the price of cows has been only about 55 - 60,000 VND/kg. We mainly make the most of the food source for the cows from straw and local grazing grounds, only occasionally "fattening" them with a few bags of bran because buying purely industrial feed is not enough to survive. Not only is the price of cows low, but it is also difficult to sell, so farmers are not interested in investing in raising cattle anymore, like my family used to raise 12 - 13 cows per batch, but now we only have 5 cows."

According to records, from the end of 2021 until now, the price of live cattle has been at 55 - 70,000 VND/kg (depending on the breed of cattle), down about 30% compared to the previous period. Meanwhile, the high price of feed has caused farmers to have no profit, even loss.

Cattle farmers must make the most of locally available feed sources to reduce farming costs.

Mr. Mai Xuan Quang (Thanh My village, Thuong Loc commune, Can Loc) expressed: “My family specializes in raising fattening cows. However, the price of live cows has dropped sharply, combined with the high price of feed, so in early 2023, I had to "sell off" my herd of 19 cows. Considering the cost of care, the cost of buying breeds, feed, and bank debt, I lost hundreds of millions of dong. Currently, I only dare to maintain 3-5 cows. When the market warms up and the price of live cows increases, we will consider increasing the herd."

To save costs and minimize losses, most farmers are having to resort to all means such as reducing their herds, taking advantage of idle farm labor, local food sources, and breeding sources from breeding cows to make a profit.

Mr. Dang Dinh Luong - Director of Dong Mon Cattle Breeding Cooperative (Dong Mon Commune, Ha Tinh City) said: “The cooperative has 13 members. The total herd used to be about 100 cows but now there are only more than 50. With the current selling price, we have to use the main source of food from agricultural products, but even so, we can only break even. With our scale of raising, the price of live cows must be from 90,000 VND/kg or more to make a profit.”

Dong Mon Cattle Breeding Cooperative specializes in raising 3B cattle.

According to the Ha Tinh Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, the total herd of cattle in the province is currently about 168,000, of which about 80% are small-scale farmers. In recent years, the total herd of cattle has decreased somewhat compared to before (in 2019, the total herd was about 180,000).

According to Mr. Phan Quy Duong - Head of Livestock Management Department, Ha Tinh Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine, the reason for the sharp drop in beef prices is partly due to the large amount of imported beef currently. The prolonged low beef prices have caused many difficulties for farmers and forced them to reduce their livestock. To reduce investment costs and production costs during this difficult period, farmers need to take advantage of natural food sources and agricultural by-products. In addition, farmers need to calculate and balance their livestock appropriately.

Although the price of live cattle has dropped sharply and remained low for a long time, the price of beef at the people's markets and supermarkets in Ha Tinh has remained high for a long time. According to records, the price of finished beef currently ranges from 180 - 240,000 VND/kg, equal to the price at the time when live cattle were 90 - 95,000 VND/kg.

Loan Phuong

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/nong-nghiep/gia-bo-hoi-rot-manh-nguoi-chan-nuoi-ha-tinh-thua-lo-nbsp/252468.htm