At midday Monday, lots of pork traders at traditional markets in HCM City such as Ben Thanh, Tan Dinh, Nguyen Van Troi and Can Cu were without customers.

Nguyen Thi Tu, a pork trader, said that until the midday, she couldn’t sell any pork despite lower prices, saying that it was due to customers’ concerns about African swine fever.

“Many people insisted on avoiding pork despite the products being safely sourced. Over the recent days, some pork stall in the market have had to close due to a lack of customers,” Tu added.

According to traders, the slow sale of pork has been seen over some recent months, but the situation has become worse since the epidemic started ravaging the south.

“Normally, I sell more than 100 kilos of pork per day, but now I even fail to sell half of this. Meanwhile, the number of customers who operate restaurants have also dropped,” said a trader at Ban Co Market in HCM City.

Pork prices have been down by VND10-15,000 per kilo, depending on different kinds. Prices of live pig in HCM City have declined to just VND36-38,000 per kilo. Localities hardest hit by the disease have seen the price of just VND35,000 from VND50-55,000.

According to Le Van Tien, deputy director of Hoc Mon Wholesale Market Management Board, last year, up to 5,200 pigs were sold at the market, but since the African swine fever, the figure has decreased to 4,800-5,000 per day.

Tien Phong/Dtinews