Pig imports push domestic pork prices down
Pig imports push domestic pork prices down
Efficient reproduction of pigs and enhancing imports of frozen pork and live pigs have made prices of live hogs fall, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). 
The ministry forecasts that pork supply will increase from the end of the third quarter, leading to stability in pork prices on the domestic market, according to the ministry's report on pork supply sent to the Government.
The report says so far, Viet Nam has licensed companies from 24 countries to export pork and poultry meat products to Viet Nam. Of which, more than 800 enterprises from 19 countries can export pork and products made from pork to Viet Nam.
In the first seven months of this year, Viet Nam imported more than 93,248 tonnes of pork, mainly from Canada, Germany, Poland, Brazil, the US, Spain and Russia, up 223 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.
The ministry licensed imports of live pigs from Thailand to Viet Nam for slaughter for food from June 12. As of August 1, about 36 Vietnamese enterprises registered to quarantine imports of more than 4.7 million live pigs from Thailand into Viet Nam, including 75,334 live pigs for slaughtering.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien also said Viet Nam did not set a quota for imports of live pigs and pork while the Department of Animal Health always created favourable conditions for customs clearance of pork imports. However, importing pork had been difficult as African swine fever had reduced the global pig output by 12 per cent.
In China alone, the total pig herds had decreased by more than 50 per cent due to this disease so this country had ordered pork imports at high prices for 3-5 months.
These factors have created difficulties for Viet Nam's pork imports, according to the ministry.
Over the past week, live hog prices nationwide gradually decreased each day. On Tuesday, live hog prices fell by VND1,000-4,000 per kilo compared to the previous day to VND79,000-86,000, Hai quan (Customs) newspaper reported.
Specifically, live hog prices in the north range from VND80,000 to VND86,000 per kilo. The prices in the central region and Central Highlands were stable from VND79,000 to VND85,000 per kilo while they were at between VND80,000 and VND86,000 per kilo in the south.
According to the MARD, the production cost at present is VND71,000 per kilo of live hog if breeders buy piglets for production and VND50,000 per kilo if they build a chain from piglet production to pig production.
According to Tien, the ministry and agencies will continue to work to prevent the COVID-19 and African swine fever, and breed pigs to ensure enough pork supply for domestic consumption from the end of the third quarter.
By the end of July, pigs for slaughter reached 4.87 million pigs, up 17 per cent year-on-year. The domestic husbandry industry expects to produce 5.17 million pigs by the end of the third quarter and 5.36 million pigs in the fourth quarter, up 68 per cent compared to the volume of pigs at the beginning of this year.
