An employee inspects a slice of pork at a local market. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was criticized for the pork price upsurge

Based on Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue’s directives, released by the Government Office, on pork prices and price stabilization efforts for the rest of the year, Hue asked the ministry to promptly report on the pork price issue, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

Also, Deputy PM Hue, head of the Government’s Steering Committee for Price Management, criticized the ministry and asked it to learn from its mistakes in making a late report and to fulfill all tasks assigned by the prime minister.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has to bear full responsibility for the lack of pork and price upsurge that have negatively affected residents’ daily lives and the country’s macroeconomic growth, stated Deputy PM Hue.

Earlier at a meeting, Deputy PM Hue had told the ministry to recalculate the supply and demand of pork and to consider importing pork to ensure an adequate pork supply.

However, the prices of pork are continuing to rise, while the country faces a possible undersupply of pork, and the pork import plan has yet to be clearly mapped out.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade had earlier announced that the pork shortage for the rest of the year could be larger than the forecast shortage of some 200,000 tons of pork.

Pig prices forecast to reach VND100,000 per kilogram

The Dong Nai Livestock Association today, December 19, forecast the prices of live pigs will reach VND100,000 per kilogram in the coming days, Thanh Nien newspaper reported.

The highest price of live pigs was reported at VND97,000 per kilogram in the northern market on December 19, while live pigs were priced at VND95,000 per kilogram in the southern region.

Trang Pham, a member of the association, noted at a forum that in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, traders have put down deposits on live pigs for the 2020 Lunar New Year at a price of VND130,000 per kilogram.

In Vinh Long Province, the price of live pigs soared by VND9,000 per kilogram, at VND94,000 on December 19, whereas live pigs sold for VND92,000 per kilogram in Can Tho City and Tra Vinh Province, up VND6,000 and VND2,000 per kilogram, respectively.

In the southeastern region, the highest price was reported in Dong Nai Province at VND92,000 per kilogram. Besides this, live pig prices in other cities and provinces ranged from VND80,000 to VND90,000 per kilogram.

On December 18, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien told the local media that the upsurge in pork prices had occurred worldwide, not just in Vietnam. The prices of live pigs in China have even surged to VND150,000 or VND170,000 per kilogram.

Tien stated that the remaining number of live pigs in some localities is not small, at over 25 million.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade had earlier forecast the country may consume some 600,000 tons of pork during the upcoming Tet holiday. SGT

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