PM urges to stabilise pork prices
Even though pork prices have increased, farmers are having a hard time finding customers to buy pigs. Due to the African Swine Fever and Covid-19, pork supply fell and prices increased. There's no official data on the balance between supply and demand then and now the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have announced that the fever has been curbed.
Statistics from the General Statistics Office show that the number of pigs ready in the third quarter of 2019 was 771,000 tonnes, 731,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2019 and 881,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2020. As of May 6, Vietnam has imported 46,400 tonnes of pork, an increase of 328% compared to the same period last year. Pork export decreased by 21.1% in the first two months.
Meanwhile, demand is decreasing as many restaurants and hotels closed in late March due to Covid-19. However, pork prices remained high and will also affect the CPI since it is included in the calculation.
The Vietnam Consumers Protection Association suggested that the authorities should launch an investigation into pork prices. According to the association, even though no firm has 30% of the market share, there's a possibility that one big firm, or more, are hoarding and price-fixing.
State agencies should always provide transparent information and up-to-date pork prices, prevent smuggling and strictly deal with violations.
After receiving the recommendation, the PM has directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Finance to research and investigate the problems and propose solutions to lower the pork price to VND70,000 (USD3) per kilo.
In recent days, the pork prices are starting to lower slightly to VND93,000.