The first batch of 500 live pigs from Thailand arrived at Lao Bao border gate in Quang Tri province on June 17, after a decline in hog prices in Viet Nam.

The domestic pork prices could be stabilised by this year end, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said at a Government meeting on Tuesday in Hanoi.

Vietnam imported more than 46,402 tonnes of pork and related products as of April 13, rocketing over 300 percent from the same period last year, according to the Department of Animal Health.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has said pork must be eligible for price stabilisation due to the high demand for this essential good on the domestic market.

The prices of pork and face masks were the centre of discussion at an extraordinary meeting of the steering committee for pricing on January 31 under the chair of its head, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue.

A producer of the traditional Tet Chung cake has attracted lots of customers after using salmon to replace pork.

Vietnam is facing a shortage of pork for the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, so responsible ministries and departments plan to import 100,000 tons of pork for this largest and longest national holiday.

Large livestock enterprises should keep pork prices in check despite limited supplies on the domestic market due to African swine fever, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuen Cuong has said.

Prices of pork hit a record high with some supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City selling pork ribs at VND280,000 per kilogram and the price of pigs reaching VND90,000 per kilogram.

With a population of nearly 100 million, Viet Nam is one of the world's top pork consumers and second in Asia, only after China.

Local pig farmers desperately wanted to recover their pig herds amid the pig undersupply and price upsurge on the local market, but existing conditions are not favorable for the effort.

The sharp rise in pork prices has driven up the costs of related food in restaurants and markets.

This years inflation is controllable at 3.3-3.9 per cent, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said while chairing a meeting early this week regarding the recent surge in pork prices, an essential foodstuff.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Farmers need to be rescued again as prices of yet another item collapse

 VietNamNet Bridge – The price of pork in the southern Dong Nai Province has fallen from VND46,000 per kg (US$2.11) to VND43,000 ($1.97).