Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong speaks during a meeting with farmers in Hung Yen Province on October 16.
During a Wednesday visit to pig farms in Hung Yen Province where the first outbreak of African swine fever occurred, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said that after eight months since the swine fever outbreak, pork production has decreased by 8.2%.
"As pork accounts for 65-70% of Vietnamese diets, the falling supply has greatly affected the local market," the official said.
The minister also expressed concerns over rising pork prices while local farmers tend to keep their pigs and wait for higher prices.
"Although pork production has only fallen by 8.2%, the prices have gone up sharply over recent days," he explained. "There have been reports that many farms are keeping their pigs to wait for higher prices. Many others are selling pork to China where prices are also escalating due to the disease."
Cuong noted that Vietnam and China have not signed agreement on pork trading so it is illegal to sell the meat abroad.
According to Cuong, pork prices have been increasing since early this month and have reached VND55,000-63,000 (USD2.39-2.73) per kilo to date. The northern province of Bac Giang and Vinh Phuc have seen the highest price of VND63,000, meanwhile, the prices in the central and Mekong Delta regions range from VND50,000-60,000 per kilo.
The minister forecasted that pork prices would continue sharply rising until the Tet Holiday.
He added that the African swine fever epidemic has been partly controlled and is declining, and this is time for farmers to boost farming.