Vietnam ranks 4th in the world in pork consumption

The information was given at the Conference on Disease Prevention and Pig Farming Development in the New Situation organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on the morning of April 3 in Hanoi.

Pork prices increase against market rules

According to the General Department of Customs (Ministry of Finance), Vietnam's pork imports have grown significantly. In 2024, Vietnam imported 292,000 tons, worth 460 million USD, up 13.1% in volume compared to 2023. By the end of February 2025, pork imports reached 25,500 tons, worth 49.9 million USD, up 37.1% and down 0.1% in value compared to the previous year.

Conference on Disease Prevention and Pig Farming Development in the New Situation organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on the morning of April 3, in Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Hanh

Recently, Vietnam has imported due to the sharp increase in domestic consumption demand. Quick statistics show that as of March 25, 2025, Vietnam imported 32.9 thousand tons of meat and 30.5 thousand tons of edible by-products from pigs, 38% higher than the same period in 2024.

Russia is currently the largest pork supplier to Vietnam, accounting for more than 22% of total imports. It is followed by countries such as Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland.

Imported products are mainly frozen meat such as shoulder meat, fatty meat, ribs and by-products. The quality of imported products is increasingly strictly controlled, meeting Vietnam's food safety standards.

The increase in imports is due to increased domestic consumption demand. Mr. Le Thanh Hoa - Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) - said that Vietnam ranks 4th in terms of pork demand, with estimated pork consumption per capita of approximately 37 kg/person in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGC) of approximately 3.8%/year (estimated domestic consumption of nearly 4 million tons/year).

According to Mr. Le Thanh Hoa, although the peak consumption period of the Lunar New Year of At Ty has passed, pork prices not only did not decrease but also increased sharply after Tet. By early March 2025, the price of live pigs had increased to 75,000 - 80,000 VND/kg, an increase of 15 - 18% compared to early January 2025. In March 2025, the peak price appeared in Dong Nai province at 83,000 VND/kg from March 6, 2025. This is also the highest price in the past 3 years.

However, by mid-March, prices showed signs of slowing down and tending to decrease. Updated live pig prices on March 28, 2025 continued to decrease. Currently, the average live pig market in the three regions is trading at 66,000 - 76,000 VND/kg.

Compared to other countries in the region, pork prices in Vietnam are higher than in China, Thailand and Cambodia, but still significantly lower than in the Philippines. Specifically, pork prices in Vietnam peaked in March at VND83,000/kg; in China, the average price in the first quarter of 2025 was VND63,000/kg; in Thailand, the average price was VND56,000/kg, and in the Philippines, the highest price was VND115,000/kg.

Regarding the reasons for the recent increase in pork prices, Mr. Pham Kim Dang - Deputy Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) - said that the recent increase in pork prices in Vietnam is the result of many factors. Accordingly, African swine fever is still one of the biggest challenges for pig farming in Vietnam.

The demand for pork consumption is increasing. Specifically, in 2023, Vietnam ranked 6th in the world in pork consumption, in 2024, the demand for pork consumption increased by 2 places and ranked 4th in the world.

From January 1, 2025, livestock farms must meet the requirements for livestock farming in the Law on Livestock. Therefore, many localities across the country have reviewed and planned to relocate or stop operations of farms that do not meet livestock farming conditions. As a result, many farms have stopped operating or reduced their livestock farming scale, leading to local shortages at some points.

Pigs are raised for the Tet holiday in large quantities (demand usually increases by 10-15%), so although the current supply has increased compared to the same period in 2024, it has decreased compared to the period before Tet (January 2025).

Pig price forecast unlikely to increase dramatically

Globally, the global pork supply is likely to remain stable, with an increase of less than 1%. The United States is the largest pork exporter. According to data released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in 2024, the United States exported 3.03 million tons of pork, worth $8.63 billion, up 4% in volume and 6% in value compared to 2023, reaching a record export volume.

Meanwhile, pork demand is expected to increase in North America and Brazil, where beef supplies are tight. Europe may experience seasonal price increases, while Asia will see price volatility, with downward pressure in China and South Korea but strong price increases in Japan and Southeast Asia. In Thailand, exports of live, chilled, frozen and processed pork will increase slightly in 2025.

It is forecasted that the price of live pigs will remain high, but it is unlikely to increase dramatically if disease prevention and control work is well implemented. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in 2025, the livestock industry aims to increase the production value of the whole industry by about 4-5% compared to 2024, of which the output of live pigs will reach over 5.4 million tons (up 5%), meeting domestic consumption demand.

Along with domestic livestock farming, the market can be regulated by the amount of imported pork (currently imported mainly from Russia, Brazil, Germany, Netherlands, Poland...).

Domestically, in 2025, it is forecasted that the livestock industry will continue to grow thanks to increased demand and output, in which pig farming is still the mainstay of Vietnam's livestock industry.

Vietnam's pork consumption is forecast to be around 3.9 million tons in 2025, up 3.3% year-on-year, and reach 4.7 million tons in 2030, corresponding to an average growth rate of 3.1% per year.

Nguyen Hanh

Source: https://congthuong.vn/viet-nam-xep-hang-4-the-gioi-ve-tieu-thu-thit-lon-381256.html