At a neighbourhood market on Lien Phuong Street in Phuoc Long Ward, a shopper named Hong said she was shocked to be quoted VND 150,000 a kilo for pork head meat, including cheeks, ears and snout. The same cut sold for VND 130,000 a kilo just a week earlier.
Hong said pork head is usually considered a cheap cut with limited everyday uses, typically priced at around VND 80,000 to VND 85,000 a kilo. Yet in less than a month before the Lunar New Year or Tet Festival, it has risen by VND 65,000 to VND 70,000 a kilo.
The price increase has been accompanied by shortages. Many stalls have posted “sold out” notices for pork head, with some vendors saying customers now need to place orders a week in advance.
Traders said the cut is popular for making pork stir-fried sausage, a traditional Tet dish. But each pig yields only about 2kg of head meat, meaning supply is limited. As demand rises, the product becomes scarce, and some stalls have already filled orders up to the holiday.
Other pork cuts have also risen by VND 10,000 to VND 20,000 a kilo. Ribs have passed VND 200,000 a kilo, belly is commonly sold at around VND 180,000, while ham and marbled lean meat are priced at VND 150,000 to VND 160,000.
A vendor named Nhan at Tan Lap Market in An Phu Ward said live hog prices have been increasing day by day and have now exceeded VND 80,000 a kilo, significantly higher than last month and above levels seen during last year’s Tet season.
“Input costs are rising, so we have to adjust retail prices, even though demand is not high yet,” she said. She attributed the late-year spike partly to earlier storms and flooding, which disrupted farming and left producers unable to rebuild herds in time, tightening supply.
Nhan said her stall still sells about two pigs a day, rising to three on weekends, and expects volumes to increase in the final days before Tet as households step up their shopping and cooking.
Supermarkets hold prices steady
The trend has not been reflected everywhere. At some supermarkets, pork prices have remained stable under price-stabilisation programmes.
At a large supermarket on Song Hanh Street in Binh Trung Ward, many cuts were being sold at prices similar to normal days: marbled lean meat at VND 140,000 to VND 150,000 a kilo, belly at about VND 180,000, spare ribs at VND 150,000 and shoulder at VND 140,000.
At another supermarket on Cong Hoa Street in Tan Binh Ward, pork was even cheaper than at traditional markets. Belly was priced at VND 150,000 a kilo, while shoulder, ham and minced pork ranged from VND 120,000 to VND 140,000.
Some shoppers said that with market prices climbing, they would prioritise supermarkets in the weeks before Tet, as stabilisation programmes help ease household spending pressures.
