Ha Nam Livestock Wholesale Market is one of the biggest of its kind in Northern Region. However, for the past several days, farmers couldn't find customers and constantly sprayed water on the pigs in the hot summer. Pigs that are small and have much fat are extremely hard to sell at the price of VND85,000 (USD3.6) per kilo.

Farmers bring 600-700 pigs to Ha Nam Market every day but Nguyen Xuan Loc, head of the management board, said only 400 pigs were sold a day recently. If the farmers can sell the pigs right away, the pigs may lose only 1-2kg. But they may lose up to 5kg if the waiting time is too long.

Due to the African Swine Fever and Covid-19, pork supply fell and prices increased. The prices didn't go down even when more pigs were raised afterwards. Trader Do Hong Quan said a live pig is sold for VND96,000 to VND98,000 per kilo in Thai Binh Province. However, some people have actually increased the prices to over VND100,000 a week ago.

"Only a few people overcharged but it had an impact," he said.

Linh, a trader in Hanoi said, "High pork prices, mean sales are actually very slow."

Pork prices will also affect the CPI since it is included in the calculation. According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, the pork prices in the first quarter increased by 58.5% compared to the same period last year and raised inflation by 2.47%.

Many small traders questioned the high pork prices and whether big firms are hoarding supply to cause high prices.

Some photos of the market:

Ha Nam Livestock Wholesale Market

Dtinews