Pork prices increase, livestock industry ensures supply

Pork prices have increased, so purchasing power at Ward 5 market, Dong Ha city has decreased - Photo: TL

Pork is a popular food, the price increase has directly affected people's daily spending, especially those with low incomes. Specifically, the price of pork butt at the markets is currently at 115,000 VND/kg, pork belly 160,000 VND/kg, bones 130,000 VND/kg, ham 110,000 VND/kg, and spare ribs 180,000 VND/kg.

Ms. N., a pork vendor at Ward 5 Market, said that the increase in pork prices has caused the number of customers to decrease day by day. Since Tet, pork prices have continuously increased. With high prices and few customers, she has had to buy less meat, mainly selling to regular customers so they can sell food, but her regular customers have also reduced their quantity, buying only about 50%; the number of walk-in customers has also decreased significantly.

The high price of pork has led many people to consider switching to other foods to suit their family income. Ms. Tr., a regular visitor to Dong Ha market, said that normally her family's food ration always includes pork. However, recently, the high price of pork has led her to switch to buying sea fish and other meats that are more affordable.

As a woman in the family, Ms. Tr. must be flexible in adjusting to the amount of money needed to spend on daily meals in the most effective way without affecting the source of income. Ms. H. in Gio Linh town, Gio Linh district said that because the price of pork has increased, her family has switched to eating other types of meat to diversify meals and make it cheaper. If pork continues to increase, her family will have to calculate and cut back to cope with the rising prices.

Pork prices have increased due to the continuous increase in live hog prices. Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Dao in Ward 8, Ho Xa Town, Vinh Linh District, who has two pig farms, said that the price of live hogs has increased rapidly since the beginning of the year. If after Tet, the price of live hogs was only 66,000 - 68,000 VND/kg, now it is 78,000 - 79,000 VND/kg, an increase of 12,000 - 13,000 VND/kg, pig farmers have made a lot of profit.

Ms. Dao's pig farm uses closed technology, the pigs are kept in air-conditioned rooms in the summer and heated in the winter. Her pig farm alone sells more than 1,000 pigs each year, with an average weight of 100 kg each. These days, joy due to the high price of live pigs is spreading throughout many villages in Vinh Chap commune.

Chairman of the People's Committee of Vinh Chap Commune, Vinh Linh District, Vo Van Tuan, said that the commune has more than 50 large-scale pig farms. The price of live pigs has been increasing day by day, bringing high income to farmers. Raising pigs has helped many poor families in the commune get rich. Every day, traders come to the commune to buy live pigs and transport them to markets for consumption.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Hau, Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Quang Tri province, analyzed that the price of pork in the province's market is increasing due to the shortage of supply in major markets, leading to a shortage of goods in Quang Tri province. Because major markets are in high demand, before, during and after the Lunar New Year 2025, the province's livestock farmers sell their pigs en masse to serve the peak market.

In addition to the above reasons for price increases, in recent times, partly due to the psychological pressure of increasing prices of general commodities in the market, the price of live pigs and pork has increased accordingly. The total output of live pigs for slaughter in the first quarter of 2025 in the whole province reached nearly 17,000 tons, estimated to reach more than 25% of the annual plan. According to calculations, the demand for meat products in 1 year of Quang Tri people is about 35 kg/person. Thus, despite the shortage of goods, the output of pork in the area is always enough to meet the needs of local people.

Faced with the situation of pork shortage and high pork prices, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine encourages people to focus on re-herding to increase income. Continue to effectively implement the plan of the Provincial People's Committee on organizing agricultural production, ensuring the growth target of 2025. Regularly update and monitor market information and prices of livestock products to have appropriate production development plans. The source of live pigs to supply the market will soon be supplemented when the time comes for the re-herding pigs to reach maturity and be ready for sale.

According to Mr. Hau, the high price of live pigs while the purchasing power of pork does not increase shows a local shortage in the short term. It is estimated that the price of pork will not increase for long because when live pigs are sold at high prices, bringing good profits, farmers will massively re-herd. When the supply increases sharply, the price of this item will soon cool down to a stable level.

Regarding the long-term plan, continue to implement the policies of the Party, the State and the province on livestock development to attract individuals and investors to organize large-scale livestock farming in the area to provide a sufficient and sustainable source of pork for the market.

Tu Linh

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/gia-thit-lon-tang-cao-nganh-chan-nuoi-bao-dam-nguon-cung-192483.htm